


Behold a Secret

by TomasNostradamus



Series: Listen! I will be honest with you! [3]
Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Shirbert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 42,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23660332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TomasNostradamus/pseuds/TomasNostradamus
Summary: As (kind of) promised, here we have the week following 'Here is the Efflux of the Soul' and 'All Seems Beautiful to Me.' You can technically read this without reading those, but I really don't recommend it. It will have multiple chapters, so watch for updates.Anne and Gilbert discussed a few heavier topics in the first couple parts of this story, so I don't plan on any very serious conversations here, mostly just them enjoying the beginning of their relationship while attempting to keep their relationship a secret, which doesn't go as planned. Something light and fluffy to entertain us all who are stuck in our houses.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Series: Listen! I will be honest with you! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689598
Comments: 166
Kudos: 372





	1. Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure all the words they use were around in 1899, just pretend with me.

Anne felt she was living a dream. She couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss in the orchard and she couldn’t wait to see Gilbert again at school, though she dreaded having to moderate her affection toward him. Knowing that she was loved by one of the very best people she knew, she could hardly contain her joy. She had continued pinching her arm all weekend until she created a large purple bruise, finally succeeding in convincing herself that this was not all in her imagination. She loved Gilbert Blythe, and he had essentially promised that he would marry her someday, whenever she was ready. _I never could have imagined this is what my future could hold. I never even let myself consider the possibility._

"But how will I know?" she had asked Marilla last evening, "How will I know when I’m ready to get married?"

"Anne, I agree with you that you are too young to marry right now, and I can’t tell you exactly how you will know," she had responded, "but I expect there will be something inside of you that will tell you that it is time, and I implore you to listen to it. There is no right or wrong order to do things regardless of what you’ve heard, whatever you decide, you can make it work. You can fulfill all your dreams alongside a man like Gilbert; you will not feel trapped. Marriage will not be the end of your adventure; it will be the beginning. He will be there to support you and encourage you to push yourself, just as he’s always done. If you want to go to college and wait for Gilbert to finish medical school before marrying, that’s fine. If you want to marry and then begin teaching, that’s fine too; you will know when it’s time. When I rejected John, every bit of me was telling me, screaming at me that I was making a mistake, and I did. My only solace is that in result you came here to us and now you get to be with his son, who is undoubtedly your equal in every way and I can’t wait to watch your lives unfold together. I made such an egregious error, yet I have been monumentally blessed as a result.”

"Careful Marilla, speaking like that people will think that I’m rubbing off on you," Anne chuckled.

"Everyone knows you’ve rubbed off on me, dear one, and we are all better for it."

\---

Gilbert hadn’t slept much the past weekend, but he had never felt more alert. Lying awake, thinking about Anne was more energizing to him than sleep right now. He had always known Anne was amazing, but he was still fascinated by the events of the weekend, how she continued to defy any expectations he had of her. He held her in such esteem, right from the beginning, even when her words would betray her, and her value just increased with every conversation they had. Her depth of understanding, how she knew what he needed to hear to make him feel better, how she seemed to know him better than he knew himself, everything she did continued to stun him. He wondered if he would ever not be surprised that she had somehow fallen in love with him, and decided it was best not to question how it had come to be. After all this time, she found him worthy of her, and he simply couldn’t believe his good fortune.

Anne came upon him leaning against the tree, eating his breakfast, where he had saved her from Billy’s attack years ago. “Well, isn’t this a coincidence, that we arrived on the path to school at the same time.”

He pushed himself off the tree and began walking beside her. “It’s not a coincidence at all. I’ve been waiting here thinking about you for ten minutes.”

“Not if we’re going to pretend we aren’t together you didn’t.”

He smirked and nodded, “Right, sorry.”

“I’m a little surprised I’m so nervous. Do you think you can pull this off? Pretend nothing has changed?”

“Do I think I can figure out how to stare longingly at you from across the room while you shoot me dirty looks?” he laughed. “Yeah, I think I’ll manage. I’ve had years of practice. Do you think **you** can pull this off? You’re the one who is worried about keeping this secret, and you will have to do more acting than I will, suppressing your love for me and all.” He winked and handed her a biscuit.

“We both know I’m a fantastic actress, isn’t that what you said on Friday? I’ve been unknowingly suppressing my feelings for you for a while now. Theoretically, doing so consciously shouldn’t be too difficult. Plus, I have experience with acting. I played a boy in the pantomime with no rehearsal and I received rave reviews. Even Rachel admitted I did splendidly; granted I spent years lost in my own imagination and I had just pretended to be a boy in Carmody so no one made fun of my hair, but I was convincing as a boy, I even got a tip!” She took a bite of the biscuit.

Gilbert's mouth hung open, “My word, there is so much I don’t know about you.”

She smiled brightly at him as they continued walking. “That role pales in comparison to my greatest accomplishment as an actress though.”

“Which is?”

“Pretending that you know how to bake. Gilbert Blythe, this biscuit is terrible! You excel at so many things; did you simply run out of the ability to over-achieve and now the rest of us have to suffer because of it? This is barely edible!”

He was hunched over in laughter, “You’re mean!”

She looked at him, “I’m not mean; I’m honest! How dare you offer this to me to eat! I thought you liked me!”

His laughter subsided and they continued on their way, “Come on, it’s not **that** bad. And how do you know Bash didn’t make that? Or Rachel? She brings us food all the time.”

“Because I know they can bake, Gilbert, use your head.”

“I will try to do better. Maybe I need some lessons?” he asked hopefully.

“Well, that’s a thinly-veiled excuse to spend time with me, but I suppose we’ll all benefit from you learning a thing or two in the kitchen.” She paused, contemplating his request. “You didn’t mess this biscuit up on purpose did you?”

“No, unfortunately I come by my lack of culinary skills honestly,” he sighed.

“Well, at least you try, not that you have much choice I suppose. Marilla and Mary worked wonders on my abilities, I’m sure you’ll catch on quickly.”

“I can’t believe you think I would do poorly on something on purpose.”

“You have thrown a contest before, so the precedent is certainly there,” she said cheekily.

He was surprised at her accusation. “When have I ever?”

“Engagement Gilbert? You ‘forgot’ the E? Are you kidding? Moody would have gotten that right.”

“Oh yeah,” he chuckled, “I did do that. I forgot.”

“Did you honestly think that would garner some favor from me?”

“No. Well I hoped it would, but I doubted it could. Mostly I saw that you weren’t feeling well and I didn’t want you to pass out. I knew you wouldn’t quit. I probably would have done the same for anyone, but I was happy I could finally show a kindness to you that you couldn’t reject. I just figured it was the nice thing to do.”

“It was. Thank you. But unless I’m ill again, don’t even think of backing down from me in competition. I rely on it.”

“Noted,” he said quietly. “I see Diana is waiting for you?”

“Yea, I’ll talk to you later I suppose.”

“I suppose,” he said reluctantly. “Bye, beautiful.”

Anne looked back at him and smiled before running toward Diana and embracing her.

“Were you walking with Gilbert?”

“Yes, we ran into each other on the way here.”

“So you were just walking together? You weren’t **walking** together?”

“We just happened to be on the same path at the same time. Honestly, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more, considering our proximity.”

“He looks… happy…” Diana observed tentatively, “Might it begin happening more frequently now?”

Anne continued nonchalantly, “I suppose if we leave at coinciding times it will, otherwise it won’t. What are you getting at?”

“For having such an imagination, you certainly are being very analytical this morning,” Diana said shortly, “I guess I just didn’t realize you were friends.”

“I didn’t say that we were, but it would have been terribly rude and awkward to follow three strides behind him without saying anything until we came upon you, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, it was rude to hit him in the head the day you met, but that didn’t stop you.”

“Diana! That was years ago and he deserved it! He even admitted it!” Anne bit her lips together after revealing too much information.

“When did he say that?”

Anne deflected, “Diana, is something bothering you?”

“Gilbert Blythe!” Diana yelled back toward him.

“Good morning Diana, is there something I can do you for you?”

“Good morning, Gilbert, you look happy.”

“Thank you? You… do not, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“Anne told me you happened to arrive on the path to school this morning at the same time?” Diana’s eyes pierced his, daring him to lie to her.

“Yes, is that a problem?” he answered with a confidence that Anne was certainly not feeling.

“Of course not. Why hasn’t it happened before?”

“It **has** happened before, thankfully on the day I met her when she was being attacked by Billy. If you’re asking why it doesn’t happen more often, I’m not sure. Does it matter?”

“I’m not sure. Does it matter that you just so happen to be walking together the first day back at school after pulling her out of sequence to dance next to her? Does it matter that you appear to have matching wounds on your face? Does it matter that you shared a heated conversation after church that left you smiling and Anne blushing as red as I’ve ever seen her?” she paused looking back and forth between the two. “Yes, Gilbert, I think it does matter,” she said smugly as she walked away.

“Well this is already going spectacularly,” Anne whispered sarcastically, “prepare yourself, Blythe, this is going to be an interesting day” she said gazing toward her friend.

“Anne?”

She turned her head back to him and smiled, “Yes?”

“I love you; we can do this.”

She blushed, “You are not making this any easier Gilbert Blythe.”

Anne jogged to catch up to Diana and Gilbert followed them to the school. When they arrived, the girls made their way to the take notice board. A large notice was tacked in the middle of the board, obscuring many that were previously posted.

_When the right person comes along, whenever that is, I’ll know.  
I’ve always known; it’s always been you.  
“For I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation.  
It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew I had begun.”_

“Oh my,” Anne sighed, her hand resting on her chest, tears coming to her eyes.

“What is **that**? It’s supposed to be a notice, not a novel.” Josie had joined them at the board, “Ugh, Anne, did you write this?”

“I most certainly did not, of that I can assure you.”

“What does it mean?” asked Ruby. “Maybe it’s from Moody!”

“The second bit is from Pride and Prejudice,” Anne said dreamily. “It’s Mr. Darcy speaking to Lizzie, the love of his life, someone who **fiercely** rejected him but he kept fighting for her regardless, doing everything in his power to change her opinion of him. Despite an unfortunate initial encounter, he saw her true character and fought for her, relentlessly, even without hope of gaining her favor. She meanwhile overcame her own prejudices by learning there’s more than one side to every story and that your first impression of someone may… not be… correct…” she had lost her zeal for explaining the story at the realization of its parallels to her own.

Diana glared at Anne, who would not meet her eyes. “Why am I not surprised that this notice would appear today?” She changed her tone to something sweeter and looked at Ruby, “Ruby, if it were for you, I think you would know what it meant, instead of needing Anne to explain it to you. Also, the handwriting doesn’t match any of the rest on the board and we know that’s Moody’s post for you over there, complimenting your perfect smile and stunning eyes. It doesn’t match.” Diana looked back toward Anne, “Though it **is** quite romantic if you were to ask me. You seem to thoroughly understand its meaning, who do **you** think wrote it Anne?” Diana had turned to face Anne, eyebrows high and standing in as menacing a manner as her tiny body could manage.

 _He must have come over here last night to post it._ She was still trying to not blush, not that that’s ever worked for her before, and she was biting her lip in an effort to not smile. “How would I know?” Anne questioned, “It certainly **is** very romantic and I will admit that the recipient of such a note should be flattered. Though I do believe we have spent far too much time and attention on this silly board.” She turned and walked away.

“If you say so,” Diana said, completely unconvinced.

\---

Diana could feel that something was different with her best friend so she chose to spend the entire day focusing on Anne and Gilbert instead of her studies. _What is the point of paying attention in school anyway when I don’t get to go to college? Mother would probably be proud of me for focusing on something that could be potentially gossip worthy, not that I would ever gossip about Anne and Gilbert._ She scoffed aloud at her internal disgust with her situation. Even after observing the two of them all day long, she honestly couldn’t see that they were acting any differently than usual. Gilbert often stole glances in Anne’s direction (normal) and Anne completely ignored him (normal). It was during the spelling competition where Diana finally saw what she was waiting for, and the wait was worth the reward.

“Anne, Gilbert, as expected, you are our two finalists,” Miss Stacy said. “To make things more interesting today, from here on out you will choose words for each other. The catch is that if you are giving the word, you must also use it correctly in a sentence. Spelling correctly is all fine and good, but useless without understanding the word. Anne, please give Gilbert his first word.”

“Sycophant. Yesterday I received a message of misinformed concern originally voiced by a sycophant.”

Gilbert tried to suppress a chuckle. S-Y-C-O-P-H-A-N-T. Sagacious. I trust you found a sagacious mind to set you straight.”

“S-A-G-A-C-I-O-U-S. Supercilious,” Anne said, turning to face Gilbert instead of the class, “You’d think my repeated victories over you in school would have subdued your supercilious attitude.”

 _This may not have been my best idea,_ Miss Stacy thought.

Gilbert turned to face her, “It hasn’t. S-U-P-E-R-C-I-L-I-O-U-S. Capricious. Though you have previously been considered capricious, you are becoming more and more predictable.”

“C-A-P-R-I-C-I-O-U-S. Incorrigible. You. Are. Incorrigible.”

Miss Stacy sighed, “Let’s refrain from name calling please.”

“I-N-C-O-R-R-I-G-I-B-L-E. Cantankerous. Stop being so cantankerous.

“Both of you, this is your final warning,” Miss Stacy interjected.

“C-A-N-T-A-N-K-E-R-O-U-S. Glabella. If you furrow your glabella any more, I fear it will get stuck that way.”

Miss Stacy sighed again and, a little embarrassed, reached for her dictionary.

“Really? You are going to challenge me with medical terminology? That’s rather daring, Cuthbert. G-L-A-B-E-L-L-A. Fasciculation. Sometimes when we argue you get a small fasciculation in your eye.

Anne was caught somewhere between laughter and exasperation. “Don’t you think I know that, Blythe? F-A-S-C-I-C-U-L-A-T-I-O-N. Arguing with you also causes dyspnea.”

“Anne, Gilbert, please slow down.”

They ignored her, seemingly unaware of their surroundings. As it was on Friday during dance practice, there was suddenly no one else in the room. “D-Y-S-P-N-E-A. Horripilation. While you suffer from dyspnea and fasciculation, I find that arguing with you causes horripilation.”

Miss Stacy slammed the dictionary shut and dropped it on her desk, giving up any attempt to check their use and spelling.

Anne shook her head trying not to laugh and put on her best outraged face, “Gilbert Blythe how dare you! H-O-R-R-I-P-I-L-I-A-T-I-O-N.” She thought for a while, looking around the room with her hands on her hips. “MISODOCTAKLEIDIST! Diana is a misodoctakleidist when she is playing with Minnie May!”

Diana stood abruptly and yelled at Anne, “What did you call me?”

“It’s not an insult, I swear!” Anne defended herself.

Gilbert’s head fell back in laughter, “I concede defeat.”

The girls began cheering loudly for Anne, while she walked up to Gilbert, “You’re not even going to try? You said you wouldn’t back down!”

“Anne, I’m not backing down, I lost! I have no idea how to spell that word. I’m not even sure it is a word.”

“Excuse me, sir, are you saying I made it up?”

“I don’t think you would stoop that low, no,” he put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to direct her back to her seat. Anne burned at his touch as he leaned in to whisper “Nice win, Carrots, I’m proud of you.”

She turned to face him, “You **really** need to not touch me in front of other people.”

He removed his hand suddenly and looked truly remorseful, “I’m so sorry, Anne, really, I didn’t mean to offend you, I only intended it as a friendly gesture.”

“No, Gilbert, stop apologizing. I’m not offended, I just… I can’t handle it.” Anne returned to her seat as Gilbert was left momentarily frozen in place.

It did not escape Diana that Gilbert was left breathless at Anne's words. She didn’t know what was said in their competition and from Miss Stacy’s display with the dictionary, she was fairly certain that whatever was said was purposefully above everybody’s understanding. Regardless, she saw what she needed to see. Gilbert was Gilbert, gazing adoringly at Anne, but this time he was confident and made no effort to hide his adoration from her. Anne was contentious, but Diana could see she was trying to hide a smile the whole time, Anne’s genuine frustration with Gilbert had disappeared.

“Congratulations Anne!” Diana said warmly as she wrapped her arms around Anne, whispering in her ear, “I am going to look up those words, and then I think you will have some explaining to do, Mrs. Blythe.”

The color drained from Anne’s face as she sat down and immediately opened a book trying to escape the world.

“Alright class, that’s it for the day, Queens study group stay, the rest of you have a great evening.”

“Have a pleasant walk home, Anne, be sure to watch for rough ground. I look forward to our discussion tomorrow.”

Diana crossed the room to speak to Gilbert, “Your penmanship has improved Gilbert, but if you were aiming for subtlety, you missed, as usual.” She walked away before he could respond.

\---

Anne and Gilbert were the last ones to leave after study group, so no one saw them walking together except for Rachel Lynde, spying on them from her window. She wasn’t disappointed as she confirmed the two were holding hands and she was left with a smile on her face.

“How could she have possibly figured it out?” Anne wondered aloud, “I know she doesn’t know those words and other than that, everything was completely normal!”

“She’s your best friend, she knows you, that’s how. And I’m thinking she’s a lot cleverer than anyone gives her credit for. She knew the notice was from me and directed at you, or at least she is confidently assuming.”

“I’m plenty aware how clever she is, I just didn’t think she would be so conniving.”

“She’s not threatening you, Anne, she probably just feels left out with you keeping a secret from her.”

“Well she’s keeping a secret from me!”

“I see… so you’re keeping this secret to get back at her for keeping a secret of her own?”

“No, of course not, it’s just coincidental. I just don’t see how she can be acting this way about me when she is doing the exact same thing.”

“Talk to her, Anne, she loves you,” they paused at the split for Diana’s house, “I need to talk with Mr. Barry about the export,” he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it, “See you tomorrow?” he said hopefully.

“Obviously,” she responded. He squeezed her hand before dropping it and turning away from her.

She ran after him grabbing his arm and spinning him around. She reached up, wrapping her hand around his neck and pulled him down to her in a searing kiss. “That’s what I wanted to do when you touched my shoulder today and why you absolutely need to not touch me at school, no matter how innocuous the intention,” she briefly kissed him again. “I love you, Gilbert Blythe. And may I offer a suggestion? Do not even look at Diana when you get there.”

“She already figured it out Anne, what do you think she’ll do to me?”

\---

After a brief discussion with Mr. Barry, Gilbert wisely declined an invitation to dinner preferring to avoid Diana’s probable interrogation and scrutiny. He was on his way out the door when he heard, “Pardon me father, may I please have a word with Gilbert before he leaves?”

“I don’t see a problem with that. Be quick about it, I expect dinner will be on soon.”

“Yes father,” she said innocently before redirecting her eyes to Gilbert with smugness only Diana could pull off.

 _So close._ Gilbert shut the door and gathered his confidence, “You wanted to speak with me?”

“Yes, yes I do,” she said sweetly, “I’ve been trying to look up some of those medical terms you and Anne were spelling today, but I’m afraid our dictionary doesn’t have them all. May I ask, what is fasciculation?”

“It is an involuntary muscle spasm. Anything else?”

“Dyspnea?” she asked, her sweet tone vanished abruptly.

He sighed and leaned against the closed door but looked her directly in the eye. If he could stand up to Anne, he could certainly handle Diana Barry. “Difficult or labored breathing.”

“Horripilation.” It was a demand, not a question.

“The bristling of hair on the body due to a variety of conditions,” he said as clinically as possible.

“What kind of conditions?”

“Like fear, or cold, or”

“Or excitement?” she finished.

“Exactly,” he challenged, daring her to respond. He smiled confidently at her, “Did you need anything else Miss Barry?”

“Just one thing,” she said quietly, accentuating every word. “If you hurt her, you better pray I don’t find out about it. Good evening, Mr. Blythe.”

Diana turned and was walking away, but stopped when Gilbert responded, his voice quiet but filled with emotion, “Diana, if I hurt her I will have failed at the most important thing in my life. I promise, I will strive every day to be worthy of her.” He turned and was halfway out the door when he felt Diana’s tiny arms wrap around his stomach from behind.

“Thank you, Gilbert.”


	2. Tuesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to act normal is hard when you're feisty and in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently a lot happened on Tuesday- more that I intended so I hope the length is okay. I have not read Great Expectations or Jane Eyre. If they aren't accurate descriptions, I apologize.

On Tuesday morning, Gilbert was waiting for Anne in the same spot. She ran toward him and was greeted with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning, Anne,” he said softly in her ear.

“Good morning! How did your discussion with Mr. Barry go?” she asked as they turned to begin walking.

“It was fine; apples, Europe, shipping. Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know?”

“Did you see Diana? What did she do? What did she say?” Anne spoke quickly.

“She asked what some of the words we spelled out yesterday mean. Apparently her dictionary isn’t very thorough regarding medical terminology.”

“And?”

“And I told her. I clearly couldn’t feign ignorance and I certainly wasn’t going to lie to her.”

“And then?”

“And then she pretty much threatened to kill me if I ever hurt you.”

“Oh my dearest Diana,” Anne sighed. “How did you respond?”

“I told her if I hurt you I would be failing at the most important thing in my life and I promised that I would work every day to be worthy of your affection,” he answered. “And then she attacked me with a hug from behind as I left her house.”

Anne stopped and threw herself on Gilbert in a crushing hug. Gilbert stumbled back and laughed at her reaction until he heard her sniff, “Hey, Anne, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“It is absolutely overwhelming to feel as loved as I do at this moment. I’m sorry… I just don’t know how to deal with it.”

“Please don’t apologize for that- it’s not worth your time. I think any honest reaction is the appropriate way to deal with it, especially if I get a hug out of it.”

She laughed and let him go to wipe the tears from her eyes. They walked in silence for a few steps while Anne composed herself.

Gilbert reached over and took her hand, intertwining his fingers with her. He smiled and brought her hand to his mouth to kiss it. “Hey, you never told me what you thought of my notice.”

She giggled, “Gilbert Blythe, you nearly brought me to my knees. I remember that- what you were saying that day. I should have realized then and there that you were talking about me, looking at me like you were. I was just completely blind to any possibility that this is what my future could hold. And the parallels between our story and that of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet are truly astounding, though I dare say Lizzie was likely more beautiful than me.”

“Anne. Stop that.”

“Sorry, how about, I’m flattered that you would feel confident in comparing my beauty to that of Miss Bennet?”

“Thank you, that’s much better.” He smiled and continued on talking wistfully, “Now if only I could compare Mr. Darcy’s wealth to my own and I could give you the life you deserve.”

“Hey, now that’s not fair! If I can’t disparage my looks, you can’t disparage your station. I swear to you, I don’t want anything you can’t already give me.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder while maintaining holding her hand, kissed her temple, and then spun her away from him as she laughed.

“When did you write that note?”

“I wrote it in school that day you told me about the board.”

“That very day? **You** have lines from Pride and Prejudice memorized? I thought I was the only one who did that.”

“I only have it memorized because I heard you recite it once during lunch. I was trying to study, but hearing you speak of ‘the most romantic words you have ever heard’ drew my attention. I was quite intrigued and your commendation of the book made me want to read it. I too found that the parallels between their story and ours were striking, and it gave me hope for our story to have a similar ending.”

“But you told me you were devastated that day and convinced that I had no feelings for you.”

“I was, but that didn’t mean I could just forget you. I thought writing it down would help me get over you. I was going to bring it home and burn it, but I couldn’t. So I just started collecting them.”

“So are you telling me to expect more?”

“Do you really like the publicity of it all? I don’t need to put on a show Anne, I can just give you the pile of notes, yours is the only opinion I care about.”

“How about just posting a couple more? I enjoy the thrill.”

“Diana figured it out, what if someone else does? Are you sure that won’t bother you?”

“Even if they figure out the people involved they won’t assume we are secretly courting. Remember? An advance of the proper advance, they’d just see it as the beginning.”

“I’m relieved to hear that’s your opinion because I went back over to the school last night.”

Anne was gazing up at him smiling as they came upon Diana.

Gilbert saw her in the corner of his eye as he was staring back down at Anne. “Good morning Diana,” he said as Anne tried to release Gilbert’s hand. He held even more tightly onto hers in response. “Anne, she knows, what is she going to do, know more?”

“That’s exactly what I intend to do, now what is going on?”

“Gilbert, you need to stop underestimating Diana, you saw where that got you last night.”

“It got me your best friend’s approval and an exceedingly aggressive hug. The way I see it, I won. And Diana, I’m incredibly flattered that you called me dreamy when you were initially describing me to Anne, by the way.”

“Get over yourself,” Diana blushed slightly, “Anne, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about you and Jerry?”

Diana blanched, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Diana, I wanted nothing more than to run over to your house on Saturday and tell you everything that happened, but I didn’t feel like you would care! Why would you want to know about this if you are keeping the same secret from me? I know that there is something going on between you and Jerry! I know he left early the day you rushed home to supposedly practice with Minnie May and I know for certain that handkerchief Matthew found in the barn was a gift from you. Why don’t you want to tell me?” Anne asked on the verge of tears.

“Gilbert, will you please excuse us?” Diana requested.

“Yea, um, I’ll… see you at school.” He squeezed Anne’s hand and left them alone.

They stood there in silence until Gilbert was out of earshot.

“I don’t think it’s the same thing Anne. Jerry and I… I don’t know what it is; what we are. We aren’t really anything I don’t think. We meet up once in a while, he tells me I’m beautiful and we’ve kissed a couple times,”

“Agh, please don’t talk about kissing him…” Anne interrupted.

“But we have absolutely nothing in common!” she finished.

Anne laughed, “Of course you don’t! Look at your lives! How could you possibly find anything to talk about?”

“Well, I didn’t intend on talking to him…”

“Diana, stop, please.”

“I don’t know what to do. I like him just fine, I do, and I feel so good when I’m with him, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s just the freedom I like. I really don’t see how we would ever be able to court openly… much less anything beyond that. Not with my parents being how they are. And I don’t even know if that’s what I want, and then I just feel bad.”

“Please don’t hurt him. He’s annoying, but he doesn’t deserve that.”

“I know that, I do. I’ll try to figure out what I’m feeling. I promise I will. And I will talk to him about it as well and see what he thinks we’re doing. Kissing him certainly does give me thrill though! I just wish he weren’t quite so tall.”

“Please stop!” Anne jokingly begged and covered her ears.

“So what about you, Mrs. Blythe?”

Anne blushed, realizing it was her turn, and began quietly, “I think you are getting ahead of us. Gilbert and I are courting, but we are keeping it a secret until after the exams so we can concentrate and focus on studying without the criticism and questions of others. The only people who know are you, Bash, Matthew, Marilla and Jerry.”

“Jerry knew before me?!”

Anne sighed in embarrassment, “Not intentionally! He saw us kissing!”

“Anne!”

“And then he came to check on us when we fell down the hill.”

“You’ll need to start from the beginning, I am very confused.”

As they walked arm in arm, Anne was able to give a condensed description of the preceding weekend to Diana on their remaining journey to the school.

“So now we are trying to figure out how to be ‘normal’ so no one catches on.”

“Just a word of advice? It’s not working. I knew as soon as I saw you yesterday that something was different.”

“That’s not advice, that’s a comment. And thankfully no one knows me better than you and no one else is nearly as observant.”

Diana squeezed Anne’s arm even tighter, “I’m truly happy for you Anne.”

Anne smiled in response, “I’m happy for me too; so effervescently happy.”

“If Miss Stacy ever lets you and Gilbert have another spelling bee, you should add that one to it. Shall we see what’s on the board today?”

Anne smiled, “I’ll admit I am curious after our conversation this morning.”

They walked over and joined Ruby at the board who was lingering there as Jane, Josie and Tillie walked away.

_The unqualified truth is that I love you simply because I find you irresistible.  
I love you against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope,  
against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.  
I love you and I devoutly believe you to be human perfection._

“Oh heavens,” Diana’s mouth fell open as Anne gasped at the notice. Ruby stood there, staring at the board, crying.

“Ruby what is wrong?” Diana asked, somewhat annoyed.

“That is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read. And I don’t think it’s for me because I don’t even understand what it is saying!” she sobbed as Diana reached out to hug her.

“Ruby, Moody likes you, he really does, we’re all certain of it, and he’s posted some really lovely things about you. He doesn’t need to use fancy words as long as he appreciates you and treats you well, right?”

“I suppose that’s true. But who wrote it? Who is it for?”

“Well, it doesn’t say, but I’m sure the people involved know.”

Anne left the girls at the board and ran inside. After getting settled in she walked over to Gilbert, who was reading a medical book.

“What was that from?” she whispered.

He pointed to the book he had brought for class without looking up. _Great Expectations_. “Slightly modified: to suit my needs.” His head remained in his book as he spoke, hoping to make it look like a casual conversation.

The room was loud, so she leaned slightly down to him as she whispered, “I want you to know that I’d kiss you now if I could.” His face blushed at the thought and his ears turned slightly red as well, “But could you make the next one a bit less romantic?”

He slammed the book shut and looked up at her, vexed, “What?”

“Just try not to be quite so romantic.”

The request made him laugh. “Why? You insinuated that you like it.”

“BecauseyoumadeRubycry,” she said as she exhaled.

He stood to meet her. “Are you telling me that once again Ruby is in charge of how we are allowed to treat each other? No; I’m still not over the first time she did that.”

She grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside where they could speak privately.

“Sure, no one will think this is unusual behavior at all,” he said sarcastically as he looked around the school house at the attention they were garnering. He followed her out of the school, down the steps and around the corner where they remained speaking in hushed tones.

“All I’m asking is for you to tone it down a bit, or maybe wait a couple days to post again.”

“Moody is absolutely enamored with Ruby and if that isn’t enough for her, that is **not** our problem. Everything I’m posting was written weeks, even months ago, I’m not going to apologize for it and I’m certainly not going to change any of them. They say what I feel in a way that is meaningful to the both of us. I’m not trying to be mean to Ruby, but I couldn’t care less about her opinion regarding the matter. What, would you suggest that I simply write ‘Anne Blythe’ up there?”

Anne sucked in air and held her breath. It was ridiculous when Charlie wrote it. It was lazy, unimaginative and truly sounded just terrible. But Anne Blythe? She sounded like royalty. Anne Blythe could command armies. Anne Blythe could be an accomplished author. Anne Blythe could travel the world. Anne Blythe would be married to Gilbert; she would create a life, with Gilbert; possibly raise a family **with Gilbert.** Hearing the name from his mouth was magical and they were silenced by the weight it carried, both of them hoping that Anne Blythe was in their not too distant future. He brought his hand to the back of his neck as he nervously laughed and looked up to the sky. Her laughter soon joined his as they both tried to suppress their unbridled happiness.

He collected himself and said, “I, uh, I’ll tell Moody to get some flowers for Ruby or something.”

She laughed, “Thank you.”

Gilbert reluctantly left Anne while she was wiping tears of joy from her eyes. He walked into the classroom and sat down in his usual spot next to Moody who looked at a loss.

“Hey Moody, how’s your leg healing?” Gilbert asked while facing forward.

“It’s fine, do you want to see it?” he responded vapidly, continuing to stare off into space.

“No, no I don’t. I want you to get Ruby some flowers.”

“What kind?”

“I don’t know- the pink kind?”

“Will that fix this? Is that why she’s upset?” he was absolutely miserable.

“Look, I don’t understand why she would be upset about a post from someone who is not you for someone who is not her on the board, but just appreciate her, show her that you care, and hopefully it will get through to her.”

Moody nodded and thought about it for a minute, his eyes coming alive again. “Was that your post?”

“Yes.” He wasn’t going to lie to his friend. There were really only two students in that class who could have written a notice like that and the deception wasn’t worth it.

“For Anne?”

“Yes.”

Moody finally tuned toward his friend and asked animatedly, “Did she hit you again?”

Gilbert smiled brightly at his friend and shook his head, “Nope, not this time.”

\---

As part of their literature studies, Miss Stacy thought it would be interesting to learn what novel her pupils thought had the greatest impact on their lives and requested that they bring a copy of the book to class if they had one. Everyone got a chance to share their opinion, some more sophisticated than others, but at least everyone seemed to have put effort into the assignment.

Then, Miss Stacy made the mistake of asking if anyone had an opinion regarding which of these books, written in the last 50 years, has had the greatest impact on society. Anne and Gilbert were the only two who had any real opinions regarding the matter, and since they didn’t agree, civil discourse quickly disintegrated, to the surprise of no one.

After they had already been arguing their points for a few minutes facing Miss Stacy at the front of the room, Anne finally spun in her seat to look at him for the first time since class began. Her breath caught when she saw him already staring at her with a smirk on his face. _Don’t. Smile._ “Gilbert Blythe, you idiot,” she began, “How could you **not** agree? Jane Eyre fought against societal norms, giving voices to so many who feel trapped in the monotony of their prearranged lives. Showing that strong character and intelligence are of value in women and that you don’t need to fit in some box for your life to be worthwhile!” The girls cheered and clapped at her summary. She faced back toward the front in assumed victory, sitting up straight and placing her crossed arms on the table in front of her.

“Anne, virtuous argument, but please, no name calling,” Miss Stacy warned.

Gilbert responded calmly, always the more even tempered of the two. “The character development in Great Expectations alone is absolutely astounding and stands worlds apart from anything else I have read, and yes, Anne, I have read Jane Eyre. The story reveals important truths about life and humanity in an incredibly suspenseful and engaging way, yet so subtly that the general population, both women **and** men, can easily relate to and thoroughly enjoy the story. Everyone can effortlessly receive and understand the morals of the story without feeling like they are being lectured to,” he stood up, walked over to her desk, and standing in front of her, picked up her copy of Jane Eyre. She narrowed her eyebrows in confusion, as did most of the other students. He casually flipped through the first couple pages, smiling when he found what he was seeking.

“I fully understand that Jane Eyre has had the greatest impact on **your** life and I know you share many traits with its eponymous heroine, but having some assumed insight into your past, surely you can’t expect the general population to be able to relate to her as well as you can,” he paused as he firmly placed the open book on the table and slid it toward her, bumping it against her arms. She put her hand on the open book and looked down at the publication information. **“** Also… **Carrots** …” he baited her as he placed his hands on the table, leaning over slightly. She stood abruptly to meet him, her eyes level with his, and there was a collective gasp from the class.

“Gilbert, no name calling.”

He continued a bit quieter as their faces were mere centimeters apart, “Jane Eyre was published in 1847, so it is not relevant to this conversation. ‘I mentally shake hands with you for your answer, despite its inaccuracy.’”

Anne growled, “Don’t you **dare** use a quote from Jane Eyre against me!”

The room was silent as they stared at each other.

“Do you have any rebuttal?” he asked her.

“Gilbert, please. Don’t provoke her.”

“Eponymous?” she asked.

“Oh, do you not know what it means?” he taunted her. “Do you need me to spell it for you?” He spoke quietly, but his smug voice cut through the tension in the room.

“Gilbert Blythe!” Miss Stacy warned.

“I know what it means; I’m just surprised you were able to form such a coherent thought,” she heckled.

“Anne Shirley Cuthbert!”

“Would you like to borrow the book? It seems you don’t know enough to make an educated argument on the matter.”

“Anne! Gilbert! Enough! Supply room; now. Not another word from either of you. I will be with you shortly and I expect you both to be alive when I get in there.”

Gilbert and Anne made their way out of the room as the other students looked around nervously and started whispering, not one of them realizing both Anne and Gilbert were trying not to laugh.

“Class, I would like you to please… I don’t know… just talk amongst yourselves. I will be back in a few minutes.”

Diana was trying not to laugh as well. If she hadn’t figured it out yesterday, that display certainly would have done the trick. She wondered what they could possibly say to Miss Stacy to explain the fact that they were seconds away from kissing in front of the entire class, though hopefully not everyone caught onto that.

“Diana!” Ruby whispered, “What is going on? I thought they were over this? They seemed to be getting along really well during dance practice last week!”

“Yes, they certainly did,” Diana continued laughing and her eyes had begun watering. She hadn’t been this amused in a very long time. “I’m sure they’re fine, probably just on edge from studying all the time and the pressure to do well on the exams.”

“Why are you laughing so hard?”

“It doesn’t matter; I just found it funny is all.”

\---

Miss Stacy stormed into the room, firmly shutting the door behind her and began pacing back and forth in front of the pair, neglecting to notice how closely together they were seated.

“Anne Shirley-Cuthbert. Gilbert Blythe. I’m not sure what has gotten into you but I assure you I have not been this disappointed in a **very** long time. You are not required to be friends, you are not required to even be friendly toward each other, but I expect, no, I **demand** that you at least be civil to one another. Yesterday you were at each other’s throats during what was intended to be a lighthearted spelling bee. And today’s atrocious behavior- what does it say when my two most promising students can’t even engage in a simple discussion without calling names and nearly attacking each other? And beyond that, you both have scratches on your faces! Did you two actually get in a physical altercation?” She paused and took a deep breath.

“I know of your history; everyone does. I know you haven’t always gotten along, but for the sake of your studies and the other students trying to learn, please, **please,** adjust your attitudes toward each other. We will all be better for it. I truly thought you were past this. After seeing how well you two danced together, I assumed that would have been a turning point. You seemed to be getting along so well, I thought that maybe you had realized how similar you are and… well, no matter.” She finally sat down in front of them, “We do not have much time left together in this classroom before you both leave for college, now tell me; how do we resolve whatever is going on between you two?”

She was answered first with silence. Gilbert and Anne stared back at her and then stared at each other, not quite sure how to go about this. Very slowly, Gilbert raised his right hand from his leg, his fingers intertwined with Anne’s.

Miss Stacy released the breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Well, it’s about time.”

Anne’s eyebrows shot up, “You knew?”

“Did I know that you would eventually end up together? No; you are **very** stubborn Anne. Did I know that Gilbert’s been in love with you for years and you have done everything in your power to deny your feelings for him? Yes, of course I knew that, I’m not blind.”

Gilbert snickered as Anne looked back and forth between the two. “Seriously, did everyone know?”

“I’m not sure, but it certainly wasn’t a well-kept secret, if that’s what you were going for. Regardless, you both still need to account for your behavior today,” Miss Stacy continued quietly, “I would say this is none of my business, but you have made it so. How long has this been going on? Just since last week then?”

“Three years.” “Four days.” They answered simultaneously.

Gilbert laughed as Anne again punched his arm. “Shut up Gilbert Blythe, we are still in trouble!”

“Anne is correct. Please explain your atrocious display of behavior.”

“We have been courting for four days, Miss Stacy, and we’re sorry, truly. I have, we have, decided together, to keep this,” she glanced at Gilbert, “just between us until we get through the examinations. This being Avonlea, I know there will be a lot of opinions regarding this… development… and I don’t want the distractions for us or any of the other students while preparing for this most pivotal time in our lives. We have simply worked too hard to be distracted by idle gossip right now.”

“So let me get this straight. Instead of the distractions caused by the announcement of your relationship, you’ve chosen to give people something to talk about by fighting…”

“I think that in our attempt to maintain our normal behavior, we may have over-compensated a bit and our passion for arguing got a little out of hand,” Gilbert added.

“I should say so, I thought you were both going to start throwing punches, though I now realize that is not what I was seeing at all,” Miss Stacy looked down awkwardly as she cleared her throat and stood. She continued quietly, “I will thank you both to leave your ‘passion’ outside this classroom. I expect you will both be on your best behavior until the end of the term and… I’m sorry; I have to ask, why are your faces all scratched up? They are much better today than when I saw you at church, but it's really bothering me and I need to know.”

“We fell down a steep hill because of the ground was saturated from the rain Friday night. The cuts are from the sticks and remnants of last years’ crop in the field.”

“Well it’s good to know you weren’t actually hitting each other. Please return to your seats.”

The classroom silenced at the opening of the door and Anne and Gilbert contritely returned to their seats with Miss Stacy following them into the room. “Oh, and you two will be spending your lunches studying; together. For at least the next two weeks. Should the need arise, we will extend the exercise. You need to figure out how to be around each other without causing a scene.” Miss Stacy turned to the chalkboard and smiled, listening to the gasps, giggles and whistles behind her. _It’s not untrue; they definitely need to get this figured out._

This time Diana made no effort to hide her humor and burst out laughing as Anne and Gilbert looked up at Miss Stacy in shocked surprise, not quite sure what to make of this additional gift of time together their teacher was enforcing upon them.

\---

As commanded, Anne and Gilbert ate their lunch together, sitting facing each other near the brook. Just as they were unpacking their lunches, Ruby came up to them.

“Gilbert? What’s your favorite color?”

“I’m not sure… why?”

“We were just discussing getting Miss Stacy a gift for helping us study for the exams. We were thinking maybe flowers but we don’t know what kind so we thought we should all choose our favorite colors.”

“Why don’t you ask Anne first?”

“Anne’s favorite colors are willow green and azure blue, though she appreciates any color found in nature.”

Anne smiled at her and raised her eyebrows at Gilbert.

“Well, I’m having a hard time deciding on just one.”

Anne rolled her eyes and looked down at her book. “Just pick one so we can start studying.”

Gilbert stared at the top of her head, daring her to look at him. “I really like red, like the red you see in the embers of a fire as it’s slowly burning out?” he said casually.

“Hey, that’s like Anne’s hair!” Ruby exclaimed.

“So it is,” he smirked in Anne’s direction, seeing the blush creep up her neck. She kept her face down, still pretending to read.

“What was the other color you liked?” Ruby continued.

“Um, blue, like the early evening sky in the middle of summer.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Anne slammed her book shut, threw it on the ground, stood up and stormed away.

“Anne!” he called after her, laughing, “Come back! Miss Stacy said we have to study together!”

“I had no idea you were so poetic, Gilbert.”

“Thank you, Ruby. If you don’t mind, tell Anne I’ll be nice if she comes back over here,” he requested. “And maybe ask Moody if he’d like to go with you when you pick out the flowers.”

Her eyes lit up, “Really? Do you really think he’d like to do that?”

He laughed softly, “Do you not know? He would be happy to do anything with you, Ruby.”

Ruby squealed as she walked back to her friends.

Anne returned a few minutes later, glaring at him. “You’re not trying at all!”

“I thought you would be happy to be proven right; our classmates are entirely oblivious to what is happening right in front of them,” he smiled at her as he handed her an extra desert from his lunch. “You’re right; this isn’t going to be that hard. People are quite convinced of your hatred for me, especially after our debate this morning.”

“You forget that Diana knows.”

“She won’t say anything. Moody knows that post is from me to you, by the way.”

“You told him?”

“He guessed. I wasn’t going to lie to him. Based on our class, only you or I would have written something like that.”

“I suppose that’s true,” she was quiet, her head hung in her hands.

“Hey Anne, are you really upset about the colors?”

She was whisper yelling at him when she continued, “No, I’m upset that everyone seems to have known you liked me except me! I feel like an idiot and I don’t like it! It’s like everyone was in on a joke and as usual I was just the last to know.”

“First of all, I’m going to assume that came out wrong and you don’t think of my love for you as a joke.”

She scoffed, “Of course I don’t.”

“Second, you said you didn’t regret the timing of this, and for the most part I don’t either, though I certainly would take more time together with you if I were given the opportunity. No one is making fun of you Anne, but I promise you that Bash certainly makes fun of me every single day for taking so long to open up to you, and before that he would tease me every day for **not** telling you how I feel. And for the most part, our secret is still safe, Moody is too concerned about Ruby to give a wit about us and Diana is reaping way to much joy from being in on the secret that she wouldn’t dare share it. Everything is fine; great, actually.”

“You’re right, of course,” she said, shaking her head clear, “Let’s just work on our essays and trade them in a bit to check them over.”

“Fine,” he said sadly, certain that she was not convinced.

After five minutes of silence, they switched papers. The topic was women’s suffrage. Anne pretended to read Gilbert’s essay as she sat back and watched him read hers.

_Gilbert John Blythe-  
I’m afraid I’m scandalously in love with you. It has only been four days and every day I feel my love for you grows tenfold. If it continues at this rate I’m quite certain I will burst by the end of the week. When you called me beautiful after church on Sunday I felt my knees lose all capacity to hold me up, just as they did when you kissed me in the orchard. When you told me you loved me just minutes later I had to push you away because otherwise I would have pulled you toward me and I assure you we’d have scandalized half the town. I thought that kissing you for the first time on Friday was the epitome of earthly bliss and that nothing could ever measure up to it, yet every kiss since then has proven me wrong and while I hate being wrong, you have my permission to devotedly continue to do so._

_I find that seeing you and not being able to touch you is one of the most peculiarly painful things I’ve ever had to endure. Had Miss Stacy let us stare at each other for even a second longer I would have kissed you in front of everyone; secret be damned. I often catch myself wondering why I would insist we keep our relationship quiet, but then I remember my reasoning and I am brought down to earth just long enough to regain my sanity. I’m slightly disappointed in myself that I have allowed a boy to affect me so, but it isn’t just a boy who is affecting me. It’s you- arguably the best person I have ever had the pleasure to meet and quite literally the man of my dreams. There have been times in my life when I second guess everything I’m doing; whether or not it is the right thing to do but I’ve not doubted us for even a second. Nothing in my life has ever felt as right as this does. This is exactly where I’m supposed to be._

_Hearing you say my future name today made me incandescently joyous, but that does not even begin to adequately describe how I felt, for you again left me speechless. Having you by my side, having your support, encouragement and rivalry as I work to achieve my dreams of going to college and becoming a teacher, I never thought I could be this happy. I never thought I could feel this much. Having you in my life is the most perfect and unexpected gift and I’m not letting you go, I hope that’s okay._

_Yours forevermore,  
Anne_

He cleared his throat, “Well, it’s outrageously off topic, but I loved it. No notes,” he teased and smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Gilbert laughed.

She leaned toward him and hit his leg. “Why are you laughing?”

“Anne Shirley-Cuthbert wrote me a love letter,” he teased. “I now have physical proof that you love me.”

“Simply being with me isn’t enough?” she joked.

“It’s just nice to have a reminder when I’m not physically with you and I think I’ve imagined it all,” he had folded the letter and held it in the air, “Thank you for this. After longing for you for so long it’s still hard for me to believe that this is actually happening.”

She rolled up her sleeve, showing him the massive purple bruise that lingered on her arm, “We have that in common then.”

“Anne!”

“What?”

“That’s ridiculous! Stop hurting yourself!”

“Quiet Doctor Blythe, I haven’t pinched myself since Sunday. I may feel like I’m dreaming, but I know now that I’m not. My dreams were never this audacious.”

Diana sauntered over to them. “Were you two able to get your essays finished for tomorrow?”

“Not quite, I assume Gilbert’s is nearly done, but mine needs some reworking, it seems I got off topic.”

“You must have, I was unaware an essay on women’s suffrage could make Gilbert blush like that, I could see how red he was from across the yard.”

“Well, I am an extremely good writer.”

“She definitely is,” Gilbert added. “Do you want to read it?”

“Gilbert Blythe don’t you dare share that with anyone!”

“No thank you, that shade of red doesn’t look good on me. I was just wondering if we could all walk home together today, just until we’re out of view of the other students and the school? I think it would work to the benefit of us all.”

“And then you are going to rush home to ‘practice’?”

“Believe it or not Anne, I didn’t enjoy lying to you, and since you continue to push the matter, I will say honestly that I do intend to practice. I intend to practice kissing Jerry right on the mouth.”

Gilbert was laughing seeing the effect of Diana’s well-chosen words.

“Agghh!” Anne exclaimed as she swatted Diana’s leg, “Diana you made it so much worse!”

\---

“It was fun arguing with you today,” Anne mentioned during their walk home after Diana left on her way to meet Jerry. “I’ve enjoyed all of our discussions, certainly, but I **really** enjoy arguing with you. There aren’t many people around here that get me to think like you can.”

“Well, wanna start?”

“Oddly enough, I can’t think of anything right now,” she sighed.

“Huh, me either.”

“I truly was surprised at your use of ‘eponymous.’”

“Why? Because you think you’re so much smarter than me? I have age on my side! My maturity has gained me knowledge and experience that simply can’t be taught,” he smugly joked.

“Like arrogance?” she laughed.

“I assure you that you are the only possible source of my arrogance. The way I see it, if Anne Shirley Cuthbert finds me worthy of her love, I am either truly worthy of her esteem or exceptionally lucky. Probably both, so yeah, perhaps I’m a little arrogant and I’m okay with it.”

When they got to Green Gables, Gilbert pulled her to him and boldly kissed her in potential view of her parents before resting his forehead against hers. “I need to work the orchard tonight. Can you check with Marilla if you could come over tomorrow and teach me to bake?”

“You think you can learn in just an evening?”

“No, but it’s a start. I’ve always learned quickly. It certainly didn’t take us long to figure out this kissing thing.”


	3. Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today the kids do better at school, plus, Gilbert learns how to bake!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy mother forking shirtballs. First draft was 3,000 words and I was worried the end result wouldn't be long enough to match the rest. Well it got a little out of hand and now it's over 7,000. Sorry?
> 
> I've never written this much for Ruby and Moody, I hope it plays alright. I needed something to lead me into Thursday, and there they were. 
> 
> Sorry for any errors, I'll try to read over it again later and fix them, but I wanted to get this posted.

On Wednesday, Gilbert decided to walk to Green Gables to meet Anne. She was on her way out the door when he got to the gate. She jogged toward him so he wouldn’t have to wait for her, smiling and talking animatedly as she neared him. He didn’t hear a thing that she said.

“Gilbert?” she paused and waited for a response that didn’t come. “Gilbert Blythe! What’s wrong?”

“Wha… what?”

“I was just mentioning that Marilla said it was fine for me to teach you to bake this evening and you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you feeling well? Is Sebastian okay? Delphine?”

He cleared his throat and began weakly, “I… uh… I’m sorry, I- you-you,” he stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. “Your hair is down,” he stared at her in wonderment.

Anne looked at him confused; she had never seen him so unsure of himself. _What is his problem?_ “I know… I just thought I’d try something different today. It’s wavier since I had to cut it off so I thought maybe it didn’t look quite so bad. None of the others made fun of me when I wore it like this last time so that’s something. I mean it’s not really curly like all the other girls wear theirs, but I thought it was fine and I was running a little late anyway,” she was trying to justify herself and he continued staring blankly at he, not saying a word. “Oh, no, was I wrong? Is it terrible? I can run back and retrieve my ties and braid it on the way to school. Do you mind waiting a minute? I can be really quick.”

She had already turned back when she heard him say quietly, “That’s a terrible idea, but it’s your decision.”

“Pardon?”

“The only reason I would agree with your idea of braiding your hair is to give me any hope of being able to concentrate today.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You really have no idea, do you?”

“No. I have no idea what you are talking about and it seems that you can’t even look at me without averting your eyes,” her breathing increased, becoming nervous around him for the first time in days. “Is it really that terrible?”

He started laughing.

“Don’t you **dare** laugh at me Gilbert Blythe! So much for your promise of never teasing me!” She attempted to go around him to begin making her way to school.

“Anne, Anne wait,” he said reaching for her hand, “I’m not teasing you. Well I guess I am, but definitely not because of how you look.”

She ripped her hand away from him. “Then what could be so funny? I don’t make fun of you when your eyebrows are hopping all over your face! Why are you laughing at me?”

“I just find it funny that you are the smartest person I know and you are completely unaware of how pretty you are!”

“That is **not** funny.”

“Actually you’re right, it’s **not** funny, it’s incredibly frustrating that you are without doubt the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and that you assume I was left speechless because you look bad.”

“What?”

“How are you not getting this? Alright, I’ll explain it plainly. I couldn’t speak because I have never seen anything as beautiful as **you,** smiling with your hair blowing in the wind as you run toward **me**. I stopped breathing at the sight of you and couldn’t hear anything except my heart beat pounding in my head. I still don’t know what you said and I’m not entirely sure that my legs work so I’m not quite sure how I’m going to get to school. Yet you have the audacity to assume I'm staring at you because you look bad. I’ve been staring at you for years. We’ve been over this- it has **never** been because you look bad!”

“You really think I’m that beautiful?”

“ **Yes!** You need to start believing me Anne because this is one thing I don’t enjoy arguing with you about.” He took her hand and led her back to the house.

“Gilbert, what are you doing?” she asked as he pulled her along. He didn’t respond, so she continued, “We need to get to school! I don’t think Miss Stacy has much patience for us after what happened on Monday and Tuesday!”

Gilbert stormed into the house, “Good morning Ms. Cuthbert, do you have a large mirror?”

“Anne has one in her room,” she began confused, “Aren’t you going to be late for school?”

“Yes we are. My apologies for barging into your home, we’ll just be a moment and then we’ll be on our way.”

Gilbert pulled her up the stairs, stopping at the top, “Where’s your room?”

She pointed and he continued pulling her down the hall. He stopped and pulled her in front of him, her back to his chest, placing her firmly in front of the mirror.

“Look in the mirror Anne.”

“What’s the point? We need to get to school!”

“This is more important, look in the mirror.” Gilbert saw Marilla standing in the doorway, but Anne didn’t notice her join them.

“What do you see that **isn’t** beautiful?”

“Do we really have to do this now?”

“Yes. Tell me what you don’t like.”

“My freckles.”

“Ruby has freckles, don’t you go on and on about how beautiful Ruby is? You share a defining trait with someone you have called beautiful since arriving in Avonlea. Why are her freckles beautiful while yours are something to despise? And your freckles have faded over time; they are only getting darker in your imagination. Next.”

“My skin, I tend to be very pink.”

“We all have different skin tones Anne, I happen to think I often appear rather yellow. Am I unattractive because of it? You’ve never judged someone based on the color of their skin. Why do you judge yourself? You said Mary was the most beautiful person you had ever seen on her wedding day. How did her skin tone play into your opinion?”

“It didn’t. She was stunning. She was always stunning and her natural beauty was compounded by her happiness.”

“Next.”

“My lips. I once said they looked like the fat caterpillars in our willow tree and I stand by that assertion. I always bite my bottom lip when I’m thinking and it gets all chapped and swollen.”

He took a deep breath, looking apologetically at Marilla and Matthew who had just joined them, curious as to why Gilbert had pulled her back into the house. “Well, you’re wrong. I assure you there is nothing whatsoever unappealing about your lips. However, if you are ever in pain, we can get you a balm that will help them heal. Next.”

“My hair. I know you said you like it, but being so red-headed has been my lifelong sorrow.”

“Marilla, what do you think about Anne’s hair?” Anne looked at the door, surprised to see they weren’t alone.

“I don’t see why she makes such a fuss about it. I think we always envy that which we don’t have Anne. My hair has always been dull, even before turning gray; I would have loved to have hair as bright and beautiful as yours. I have never seen hair that has so perfectly mirrored the spirit of its owner.”

“Matthew?”

“I suppose I never understood why she hated it so much. I don’t see why red hair is bad. That was one of the first things she told me, though, that she thought she could never be completely happy because of her red hair. I dare say that her red hair makes her one of the most unique and beautiful girls on the island. I have never seen the like.”

He spoke over her shoulder to the Anne in the mirror, “Anne, not only is your hair beautiful, but here is no other hair color that could do the rest of you justice. You tried to darken it and you said it made you look like a witch. It’s possible you’d look okay as a blonde, but why would you want to blend in with everyone else when you work tirelessly to stand apart from others? And from what I hear, green wasn’t a great color on you either.”

She laughed softly in response.

He spun her around and lifted her chin to meet his gaze, “You were perfectly created Anne, we all have things about ourselves we aren’t happy with all the time, but remember that you likely carry the traits of your parents, and if you ask me, you got the very best pieces of them. Who was the last person, besides yourself, who disparaged your looks?”

She thought for a time, “I- I don’t remember,” she said in realization, tears forming in her eyes. _Has it all been in my head?_

“You don’t remember because no one speaks poorly of your appearance, Anne. Do you think Charlie posted on the board for you because he thinks your personalities are compatible?”

She laughed and choked on her tears, “No.”

“No, he’s not **that** stupid. He posted because he thinks you’re pretty. When I showed up on your second day of school and said you were cute, no one argued with me, it was an accepted fact; I didn’t need to defend my opinion. The only person who finds you unattractive is you, and I know I’ve already mentioned this to you, but it hurts me so much that you see so much beauty everything around you but can’t recognize it in yourself. You don’t grant yourself the kindness you bestow on others. You have conditioned yourself to believe these things and they just aren’t true.” He spun her back to face herself again, through her tears, “Look at yourself with fresh eyes and forget your preconceived notions, just for a minute. You **are** beautiful and I wouldn’t change anything about the way you look, even if I could, but my opinion here isn’t very important. **Yours** is. We don’t have the luxury of living in a world where I can tell you that how you look doesn’t matter, I wish I could tell you that, but it’d be a lie and I make it a point to never lie to you. You are unique, definitely, and you are absolutely stunning because of it. People can sense your insecurities though, and they will chip away at them to bring you down to their level. If they can see that you are self-conscious about the way you look, some might use it against you. But, if you have the confidence in your appearance that you have regarding your intelligence, you will be unstoppable, Anne. You have the ability to become absolutely unstoppable.”

Anne turned and buried herself into Gilbert’s chest and cried as he held her. Matthew and Marilla left to give them some time alone, both more confident now than ever that Gilbert had nothing but the best intentions regarding Anne.

She eventually calmed down and broke from the hug and turned back to her basin, “Do you mind holding my hair so I can wash my face?”

He smiled at her, “No problem.”

She dried her face and handed him the towel to hang up. “We are going to be so late,” she said as she looked determinedly at herself in the mirror. Gilbert could see her making an effort to change her attitude.

He smiled and kissed her cheek as she stared at herself, “It was worth it.”

“Yes it was, Gilbert Blythe,” she turned her head toward him and smiled. “Thank you.”

\---

They were late; very late. The walk to school had been quick, and pleasant as could be expected given their conversation at Green Gables, but the lightness of the previous days had vanished. Before they walked up the steps, Gilbert made an effort to clear the air between them.

“Anne, I hope I wasn’t too condescending to you this morning; that really wasn’t my intention. I was just so frustrated. I’m so sorry if it came out a bit aggressively.”

“I’m not mad at you, Gilbert; it just takes me some time to process things. I can understand your frustration, but I really… I’m not trying to be difficult, you know that right? I genuinely did not understand why you would be looking at me like that.”

“I know, and you aren’t difficult, it’s just hard for me to remember that while you are so intelligent, there are some things you have been taught incorrectly and I need to be more patient with you as you learn the truth.”

“I would appreciate that. And I will try to listen to what you, and others, are saying, instead of assuming the worst all the time.”

“Thank you,” he sighed, “You know I love you, right?”

“I do. And I love you, but we need to get inside, Miss Stacy is going to kill us.” She kissed his cheek as he opened the door for her.

“Anne. Gilbert. Thank you for joining us.”

“I’m terribly sorry Miss Stacy, it won’t happen again,” Anne’s face turned red at the need for apologizing to her teacher for the third day in a row.

“May I inquire as to what delayed you?” Miss Stacy understood this was potentially a dangerous question, but tardiness was unacceptable and they knew that.

“We had a misunderstanding and Anne started yelling at me so I had to put together a twenty minute presentation to prove my point.”

 _Heavens that boy has gotten cheeky since getting together with Anne._ “So, the usual then; please take your seats. We are already well into our geometry lesson, but I’m sure you’ll catch up.”

They both got settled in to the whispering and laughter of their classmates.

“Anne, what really happened?” Diana whispered, seeing that Anne’s eyes were red. Diana flew into a very quiet, but angry, tirade. “Did he hurt you? I swear on everything that is holy that boy is going to rue the day he ever even looked at you!”

“He called me beautiful.”

“And?”

“And I disagreed.”

“And?”

“And he put together a twenty minute presentation to prove his point.”

\---

Gilbert and Anne were unusually quiet in class. They had intended on being respectful to their teacher, but it came off as disinterested. They spent lunch studying together, Gilbert needing to explain the geometry lesson to Anne that they had missed the majority of. He loved being able to teach her things. He really did think that she was smarter than he was, but when she needed help in math he felt a little more valuable to her and he appreciated that Anne just accepted in now and let him help her instead of being upset about not being the best at something. Anne caught on to the lesson quickly when Gilbert figured out a way to apply it to nature and Anne smiled at her success and thanked him for working so hard to make the lesson more applicable to her way of thinking.

“Maybe **you** should be a teacher.”

“I don’t think teaching is for me.”

“What are you talking about? That was amazing how you made that make sense to me.”

“I just know you well and have a vested interest in your success. My devotion to your education could hardly be applied to that of anyone else.”

“I think you underestimate yourself.”

He smiled proudly at her, “I promise you that’s not the case.”

\---

Their last lesson of the day was fairly brief, but Miss Stacy hoped it made an impact. “Alright class. Conviction. Who can tell me what it means? Yes, Charlie?”

“Being found guilty of a crime.”

“Correct. Does anyone have another definition? Jane.”

“A firmly held belief or opinion.”

“Thank you Jane, we are going to focus on that second definition today: a firmly held belief. Class, I have done my best to prepare you for the future and for your exams, for those of you who are taking them, and you have all done splendidly. I’m very excited to watch you go out into the world and see all that you accomplish. I would be remiss though if I imply that classroom knowledge will be all that is required to succeed. All the academic knowledge in the world will do you no good if you lack knowledge of yourself.”

There was silence and confusion among the students.

“Many of you are about to enter a life outside the reach of your parents. Some of you will be far away from Avonlea as well and some of you will be alone, without your friends,” she looked at Gilbert, “It will come as no surprise to you that there will be people you meet who will try to take advantage of you, particularly you, ladies. Now I do not say this to scare you, only to prepare you. You are the strongest and best versions of yourselves when you know who you are and what you believe in. Some of you have had harder lives than others. You’ve faced adversity and overcome it. Others have led easier lives and I expect this exercise will be a little more difficult for you. Please take out your slates.”

The students followed her instruction.

“Number one: name something you believe in. Number two: name something that you have struggled to believe in. Number three: name something you would fight for if everything was stacked against you. The trick is that all three of these things should be the same answer.”

There was a collective “What?” voiced in response to her request.

“I have written the three requirements on the board if you need help remembering. Please take a few minutes to provide an answer and write it on your slate.”

When she could see everyone had completed the task, she continued on, “The second part of this exercise is to explain how you have found the strength to fight for what you just wrote down.”

Anne was giddy with excitement. She loved writing essays and was confident with her initial answer, she could easily write a couple pages on the subject.

“Your response is limited to ten words.”

“ **What?** ” Anne yelled in complete outrage before covering her mouth and apologizing. Gilbert covered his mouth and tried not to laugh. He failed and ended up putting his head down into his elbow resting on his desk to hide his face. _There’s my girl. She’s so passionate; I just love it._

“Conviction is strongest with brevity and clarity. You should not need an essay to explain yourself when you fully understand what you are trying to say.”

“But Miss Stacy-” she began to argue.

“That is the assignment, Anne. I know that you are capable of complying,” she continued addressing the class, “We will be sharing your responses. You need to be able to stand up for yourself. If you can’t do that in front of your friends, what will come of you standing in a room surrounded by strangers? Please take the next ten minutes to finish the exercise.”

When the time had passed, they went around the room sharing what they had written. There were four that were more profound than the rest.

“Myself,” Anne said, “If I didn’t believe in myself, no one would.”

“God,” Moody spoke quietly, “Evolution is valid but doesn’t account for miracles and beauty.”

“Independence,” Diana spoke resolutely, “It’s my life; I will not be trapped by it.”

“Love,” Gilbert said, “Finding family and finding love when hope was lost.” There was silence after Gilbert spoke, no one expecting the answer and statement he provided.

“Now I hope that none of you were nervous to share what you wrote. You all did splendidly and I hope you got something out of that. Maybe you have found insight into yourself; maybe you’ve found a better understanding of your friends and classmates. Remember there is nothing wrong with who you are and what you believe, as long as you are open and accepting that not everyone you meet will agree with you.”

“Miss Stacy, what about things like slavery or beating children as punishment?” Diana asked.

“Well, that is certainly tricky, for I firmly believe both those things are wrong, along with many other things that are against the law. Regardless, I have found that lawfulness is often not a deterrent with what you believe in your head and your heart to be true; for better or worse. What I’m trying to do here is send you out into a world where you treat everyone with respect. Hold true to your convictions, but be open-minded. Your convictions may change, and that’s okay, as long as you are true to yourself and not beholden to the influence of others. If there are no more questions, you are dismissed for the day; Queens’ students take a five minute break.”

\---

“Anne and Gilbert, a word please,” Miss Stacy said after she dismissed the study group.

“I’m not sure what your argument was this morning, but I really need you both to be on time for class.”

“Yes, Miss Stacy,” they responded simultaneously.

“Was it at least academically inclined?”

“Well, not exactly, but it aligned with your lesson on believing in yourself,” Gilbert stated confidently.

“And what about being beholden to the influence of others, Gilbert, how do you justify that bit? Because I’m fairly certain all that was the influence of you, so according to Miss Stacy I shouldn’t even be listening to you!”

“I’m not influencing my opinion; I told you explicitly that my opinion was not important. I could not have been more clear. I am trying to get you to accept a **fact**.”

“You can’t prove it's a fact! It’s subjective to perception!”

“Widely held perceptions are readily accepted as fact!”

“Please calm down, both of you. Gilbert, what was the point you were trying to make with Anne this morning?” Miss Stacy reluctantly asked.

Gilbert blushed, not believing he was about to share this with his teacher, “I told Anne she was beautiful and she… disagreed. So I had her tell me what she didn’t like about her appearance and I proved her wrong.”

“According to your lesson Miss Stacy, he was stating his opinions,” corrected Anne through her teeth.

“This is folly,” Miss Stacy said as she prepared to leave. “Both of you are ridiculous. Anne, you are beautiful, listen to Gilbert and stop being so obstinate. Gilbert, have you heard the phrase, ‘don’t poke the bear?’”

“I know; I just can’t help it,” he sighed leaning on a desk.

“Figure it out. Both of you. I think the rest of the class has left, enjoy your walk home together.” She turned to leave.

“Wait, did you keep us here just so we would be able to walk home together?” Gilbert asked.

“Officially, no, I kept you late to tell you to be on time for class. You’re welcome.”

“Thank you!” Anne called as Miss Stacy walked out the door. “Well, that was unexpected,” she looked at Gilbert surprised.

“Come here,” he said excitedly, pulling her toward where she had introduced herself years before.

“What are you doing?”

“Just come here and kiss me.”

She was laughing, “Why?”

“Because I love you and I’ve been dreaming of this, well, forever and who knows if we’ll ever be alone in here again.”

She was in place only for a moment before his lips were on hers but despite his effort at romance, neither of them could stop smiling the situation and Anne was laughing through the kiss.

“Stop laughing, Anne, that’s not part of my dream.”

Her mood turned serious and she pulled away from him slightly, “Don’t you dare tell me what to do Gilbert Blythe!”

“Perfect.”

\---

After a pleasant walk to Gilbert’s house, Anne got right to business. “So. Gilbert. Biscuits. Tell me what you usually do.”

He was rolling his sleeves up, “I usually mix the ingredients together, cut it up and put it in the stove.”

“Alright… that’s one way to do it. Why don’t you bring me the ingredients you usually use?”

He gathered the ingredients and placed them before her.

“Where’s the sugar?”

“In the pantry.”

“Let me rephrase. Please get the sugar; you need sugar to make a good biscuit.”

“Really?”

“No, I made that up,” she joked, “Yes really.”

He went to retrieve the sugar.

“Alright, Gilbert, you can’t just ‘mix it all together.’ I’ll measure out what I usually do and you can combine all the dry ingredients together first, pay attention to the measurements I’m using though. Then after the dry ingredients are mixed well you add in the lard and **then** the buttermilk.”

“Is it really that important to do it step by step like that?”

“Based on the quality of your biscuits I think it is absolutely imperative, though the addition of sugar will certainly help as well.”

They worked silently for a few minutes. “Alright, the dry ingredients have been mixed together and I wrote down the measurements so I remember next time.”

“Good idea. Okay, so when you add the lard, you need to add it in tiny pieces, you can use a fork to divide the lard, like this.” He watched attentively as she provided the example before offering the fork to him to try. “Your turn.”

He continued the task until complete, awkwardly at first, but gaining proficiency by the end. “Now mix it in to the dried ingredients. You want the mixture to look like course meal.” After a few minutes, she said, “That looks good, you may stop. Now, make a well in the batter, like this,” she pressed the middle of the batter down. “Then you just pour the buttermilk in a bit at a time, use the fork to mix it until the milk is absorbed and then you’ll need to knead it with your hands. Then we’ll roll it out and cut the biscuits.”

“Well, I don’t know what I was making before, but I didn’t do any of this, so that’s interesting to learn, I guess, if not a bit disappointing.” He removed the dough from the bowl and placed it on the table.

“Gilbert, stop poking it, what are you doing?” she laughed.

“Kneading.”

“That’s not kneading!”

He picked up the dough and threw it down on the table like he had seen Mary do, a big smirk on his face.

“Stop! You don’t need to kill it!” she said laughing harder. “Here, let me show you. Put some flour on your hands so they don’t stick to the dough, yeah just like that. With bread dough, that’s when you want to knead really hard, I know Mary would sometimes throw her dough when making bread but honestly I think that was only when she was frustrated with you and Sebastian and the alternative was punching one of you.”

“Hey!”

“But this is more of a tender kneading. You were correct in not being too rough, but poking it will certainly not get the job done. Flatten it out a bit, sprinkle some flour then fold it over, like this, you only need to do this a few times, because you want the biscuits to be light and fluffy. You try.”

“Like this?”

“Much better. Now we want to spread it until it’s about three centimeters tall. Care to do the honor?” she asked offering him the biscuit cutting can she had brought from home.

He chuckled, “Thanks,” he took the can from her and she hopped up to sit on the table.

“And then keep doing that until you run out of dough.” It took him about ten minutes to properly form the biscuits and arrange them on the tray.

“Now what”

“In the stove, for about fifteen to twenty minutes or so. Gilbert Blythe! Use a towel when you reach in there!”

“Why?”

“Because you could get burned!”

He laughed at her concern, “Anne look at my hands,” he offered his hands to her as he came to stand in front of her between her legs hanging off the table.

She took his hands in hers playing with his fingers and massaging his palms, “I’ve seen your hands Gilbert.”

“But did you look at them? I’m a farmer, who worked on a steamer. My hands are scarred and calloused; a little heat from putting something in the oven isn’t going to bother me. I promise I’ll use a towel when I take them out. There are times that I feel my hands are shockingly numb to the world.”

She lightly kissed each of his palms.

“But I could feel that,” he said softly.

“My hands were like this when I was in service. They seem to have restored themselves a bit now that I’m not doing quite as much physical labor. I don’t know that feeling will ever come back from the burns though. Are you worried it will impact your ability to be a doctor?”

“No, they still work, and it’s not like I want to be a surgeon. I’ll be fine,” he gazed at her appreciatively. “I feel like I can do anything now.”

“Why? Because you made biscuits?” she laughed, “You haven’t even tasted them yet.”

“No, not because I made biscuits,” he laughed, “and even so, I know they will be great. You know, you are going to make an amazing teacher Anne,” he said staring down into her eyes, holding her hands in her lap.

“You really think so?” she asked hopefully.

“Definitely. You only made fun of me a couple times, even though I’m sure you wanted to say more.”

“I like to tease you, but wanting to improve your skill at something is commendable. You’re a man, it’s more expected that you work out some kind of trade with someone, or just rely on the charity of others than actually trying to take care of yourself as far as cooking and baking go.”

“Well, that’s not how I was taught. Sure, we had Mrs. Kincannon, but her services were just needed in order for me to go to school and tend to my dad when he was sick. Before that, we were very self-sufficient. Dad and I, we took care of each other and we did just fine. We did it all together- there was no men’s work or women’s work. We did what needed to be done to get by.”

“Did he ever consider remarrying?”

“Not that he let on. Though I wonder now if he didn’t consider Marilla again when we moved back here. But I don’t think he wanted to risk losing anyone else.”

“It sounds like he would have done a world of good for Marilla, from my perspective anyway. I tried to convince her that I can do farm work when I first arrived and she wouldn’t even entertain the idea. Once the Cuthbert’s decided that I could stay, they still hired Jerry to do what they assumed I couldn’t.”

“But… if that match would have happened, then **I** would be taking care of the orchard **and** Green Gables and **you** might not even be here.”

She looked down at their hands in her lap, “You’ve thought about that?”

He brought his hand up to the side of her head, guiding her gaze to his. “Yes, Carrots, I have thought about the myriad of choices our parents made that happened to bring you here to me and I thank God for it every day.”

She smiled brightly at him, “Me too.”

\---

“Moody!” Ruby said, startled as she came to an abrupt stop at the path she was going to take to Gilbert’s house. “What are you doing here?” She was speaking high and quickly, her nerves apparent.

“Good evening, Ruby,” he tried to speak confidently, but he was suddenly even more nervous than she was and his voice was nearly as high. He cleared his throat and tried to continue on more normally, “I needed to talk to Gilbert about… something. Since he was late and then busy at lunch and then we had study group and Miss Stacy talked to him and Anne afterward, I didn’t get a chance. What are **you** doing here?”

“I need to speak with Anne. I’m just coming from Green Gables. Ms. Cuthbert said she would be here teaching Gilbert how to bake biscuits.”

“To bake biscuits?”

“Yes, apparently he makes terrible biscuits and now with Mary gone, I guess it’s only expected that they need a little help.”

“Of course. Well,” he gestured to the path before them, “shall we?”

“Yes. Thank you.” The walk was painfully quiet. Each of them hoping the other would say something first. Eventually they came upon Gilbert's house. They quietly approached the door that led into the kitchen and Moody was about to knock when Ruby’s eyes went wide and she turned pale. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down below the window on the door.

“What?” he said before Ruby put her hand on his mouth to silence him, her eyes were wide and she was shaking her head vigorously.

“Shhhh! Gilbert and Anne are in there!” she whispered harshly.

“Yes, we know that,” Moody was confused, but answered in a whisper to appease Ruby, “Gilbert lives here and you just said Anne came over to teach him how to make biscuits.”

“No. Anne and Gilbert are **together** in there.”

“Yes, I assume they are…”

“Moody! Use your eyes! They are **not** making biscuits!” she pulled him up to the bottom of the window to see Gilbert place his hand to the side of Anne’s head. Through the sheer curtain, they could see him say something to her and she was beaming up at him. After Anne spoke, they stared at each other for a moment before Anne grabbed the front of his shirt and crashed his lips into hers. Moody and Ruby continued to watch them for a couple minutes, jaws on the ground, mystified at what they were seeing until Moody came to his senses, grabbed Ruby’s hand and pulled her away from the house. A couple steps away from the house, he released her hand and they both began running back to the woods where they slowed to a quick walk and continued down the path to their houses.

“Well, I guess Gilbert’s notices paid off,” he mused.

“Those were from Gilbert? For Anne?” Ruby squeaked.

“Who else would have written them? And who else would have understood what they said?”

Ruby giggled, relaxing a bit, “You didn’t understand them either?”

“No. Not at all. They sounded nice, but I still don’t know what they meant.”

Ruby laughed more heartily. “Me neither! I thought they sounded so romantic, but Anne had to explain what they meant. I suppose I should have put it together then. Oh, Moody! I know it’s wrong to spy, but how wonderful that we got to be witnesses to the beginning of their relationship!”

“Um, I don’t think that was the beginning,” Moody said tentatively.

“It only makes sense though!” Ruby was excited. “If he posted notices for her on Monday and Tuesday, that could have been their first kiss!”

“Ruby, I don’t think that was their first kiss.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Well, um, they didn’t look nervous. I would expect you would be nervous for your first real kiss. I know I am… and they looked…” Moody was feeling awkward discussing the love life of his friends, one of whom Ruby was recently completely enamored with.

“They looked what?”

“They looked like they knew what they were doing, and my knowledge of the topic is limited, but that was no simple kiss.”

“Oh,” Ruby thought about what Moody said, “You are a liar! You’ve already had your first kiss! During spin the bottle – you kissed Diana.”

“I don’t think that counts. That was just a game. I hope it doesn’t count anyway, because if it does, I feel like I’ve wasted it.”

“Are you saying kissing Diana was a waste?” Ruby was horrified. _How dare he say that about my friend!_

“No, no, not at all. I would just like my first **real** kiss to mean something. To be with someone I care about and who hopefully feels the same about me. Not be the result of a game I was reluctant to play in the first place.”

“Oh no!”

“What? What did I say?”

“We have to see them both tomorrow! What do we do? Do we act like we don’t know? Do we admit to spying on them? We could just say we saw them baking, I assume they did actually make the biscuits, all the ingredients were still out and the place was a mess.”

“If they were just baking, why wouldn’t we knock?”

“I don’t know! Do **you** have any ideas?”

“I don’t really think it’s any of our business what they are doing. Gilbert has been in love with Anne for years, I’m happy for him.”

“For **years**?”

“Yea, sorry, I forgot who I was talking to for a minute there. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I don’t have feelings for him like that anymore, I’m just surprised at how blind I was. So you’re just going to pretend like you don’t know?”

“No, I’ll probably say something like, ‘Hey Gilbert, I came over to your place to discuss something last night, but I saw you were busy and decided not to interrupt. I’m happy for you.’”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that. What are **you** going to do?”

“I have no idea. Probably just explode.”

\---

Sebastian had been outside with Delphine, but she was starting to get fussy with hunger and honestly, so was he. Knowing Gilbert and Anne were alone in the kitchen, Sebastian and Delphine entered through a different door and crept silently into the kitchen where Gilbert was passionately kissing Anne as she sat on the table.

 _Perfect. I’ve been waiting years for this._ He smiled as he walked up to the table and abruptly yelled, “Hello children!”

Anne was so surprised that she made the mistake of simultaneously biting Gilbert’s bottom lip and pushing him away from her.

“Ahhh!” he yelled in pain as his hand went up to his mouth while he struggled to avoid backing into the stove, “Bash!”

“Hey,” he said, is arms up in surrender, “you said you were making biscuits and I was just worried that your biscuits are very different than my biscuits. Good evening, Anne.”

“Hello Sebastian, how are you this evening?”

“Not as good as you apparently,” he teased.

“I’m bleeding, I’ll be right back,” Gilbert winced.

“I’m sorry!”

“It wasn’t your fault, Anne!”

“That’s right, it was his fault, he should know better than behaving like that with you.”

“He did nothing that wasn’t encouraged.”

“Don’t let the Cuthbert’s catch you doing that or speaking like that.”

“Why do you think I suggested we bake here?”

“You know, I think Gilbert’s been a bad influence on you. You two are going to sully my good name, turning this into some house of ill-repute. I’ll have you know I’m an honorable chaperone and officially, I do not condone of this behavior.”

“And unofficially?”

“I’m his brother, not his father. I say have at it.”

Anne burst out laughing, “So you’re not of the belief that he’s a perfect gentleman? That seems to be the popular opinion around town. Most people would accuse **me** of corrupting the perfect Gilbert Blythe.”

Sebastian guffawed, “Hell no. Pardon my language, Anne, it’s just I spent nearly a year with him on a boat. He is no perfect gentleman.”

Gilbert returned with a towel on his lip. “Hey, Bash, Anne still has a decent opinion of me and I would prefer it stay that way, could you please keep those stories to yourself?”

“You mean the stories where you would get drunk and talk about Anne?”

Gilbert turned scarlet, “That never happened! Anne, that didn’t happen.”

“I can remember it happening on three different occasions. **You** don’t remember it happening because you don’t know how to drink.”

“Apparently I know how to drink just fine; I just don’t know how to stop. Agh, I’m going to regret this. What did I say?”

“I’m all for embarrassing you, Blythe, but you really don’t want me to say this in front of Anne.”

“I was that terrible? Anne I’m so sorry,” he apologized as he went to remove the biscuits from the stove.

“Gilbert, we don’t even know what you said, don’t apologize. Sebastian, do I really have anything to worry about?”

“Queen Anne, all I will say is that you can rest assured knowing that this fool has been yours from the beginning and nothing could turn his head from you.”

“Hey! They look like biscuits!” Gilbert said as he took the biscuits out.

“Let them cool just a couple minutes. Honey?”

“Yes?” He replied cheekily and Sebastian hit his arm, disappointed in the bad joke.

“You’re ridiculous- where is your honey?”

“Right,” he reached up on a shelf, “here. Looks like we’re running a bit low, but I think we’ll have enough for the night.”

“Oooh! Can I harvest honey with you?”

“Um, sure? I mean we can’t go tonight, but if you really want to I think you’ll fit into my old gear.”

“I would **love** that! When can we go?”

“The warmest time of any warm day, I’ll let you know when would be a good day.”

“Wonderful. Thank you!”

Sebastian took a bite of the biscuit and it made his eyes water. _Just like Mary’s._ He, put it down, walked over to Anne, wrapping his arms around her and picked her up in a bone crushing hug. “Thank you, Anne, you’ve brought back my Mary.”

“You’re most welcome Sebastian, and really, I’m happy to help at any time, with whatever you need.”

After they ate, Gilbert walked Anne home and returned to a conversation he was dreading.

“Bash… those three times, I didn’t say anything… indecent, did I?”

“So you admit you’ve thought indecent things about her?”

“Of course I have, have you seen her? She’s like a dream.”

Sebastian laughed.

“I honestly have no memory of saying anything about Anne while drinking. What did I say?”

“It’s really not that bad; I just thought you might’ve had enough embarrassment for a night. You mostly spoke about how smart, passionate and beautiful she is. Nothing we don’t already know. You also showed an unhealthy obsession with her hair though, I thought you were crazy for talking about it so much, but I get it now, you were not exaggerating.”

Gilbert sighed, relieved, “Is that all?”

“And this is what I didn’t understand: when you would fall asleep, you would mutter to yourself ‘upper left corner of the black box.’”

Gilbert smiled and chuckled, nodding knowingly before turning and walking to his room.

“What? What’s it mean? Blythe! Don’t you walk away from me!”

“It’s where I keep my mother’s ring,” he yelled back.

“Don’t you propose to that girl yet! She’s only 16!”

“I’m not an idiot Bash!”

“Yes you are!”

Gilbert came back into the room, sick of yelling across the house, “I don’t need to propose to her yet, she already said she’d marry me. I just have to wait until she’s ready.”

“Can you do that?”

“I don’t think I have much of a choice. But yea, I’ll wait for her. Happily. As long as it takes.”


	4. Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert is awesome but also clueless. Anne has a rough day, but is learning to laugh at herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think panic attacks were diagnosed as such back in 1899, just go with it.
> 
> The river spot they go to is the one they show Miss Stacy and Sebastian hang out at in the series. 
> 
> Enjoy! Thank you for reading!

“Sebastian James Lacroix!” Gilbert was furious as he threw the door open and stormed into Sebastian’s room.

Sebastian groaned, “What are you doing Blythe? And what are you middle naming me for? Leave me alone.”

“Look at me! Look what you did!”

Sebastian blinked hard, his eyes adjusting to the light. He looked at Gilbert, smiled and started to giggle. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, you look great! You look rested, bright-eyed, invigorated,” he paused before raising his eyebrow and dropping his voice, adding, “satisfied.”

Gilbert clenched his fists. “I’ve never wanted to punch you this badly. How am I supposed to go to school like this?”

“Why are you mad at me? I’m not the one who tried to eat your face, just be happy it wasn’t your tongue and let me go back to sleep.”

Gilbert yanked Sebastian’s pillow out from under him and hit him repeatedly with it as he yelled, “No! Get up and help me think of something so that when people ask what the hell happened to my face I have a better answer than the girl I’m secretly courting bit me!”

“You are so cranky in the morning.”

“It has nothing to do with the morning!” he said as he threw Sebastian’s pillow back at him and turned to leave. “You have two minutes to meet me downstairs or I’m coming up with cold water.” Gilbert stormed out to retrieve Delphine who had awoken from the shouting.

“You think I can’t handle a little cold water on my face?” he yelled after him.

“My intentions were quite a bit south of your face!”

“You’re mean, Blythe! Heartless!” He groaned loudly, but got out of bed and soon joined Gilbert in the kitchen.

“Seriously Bash, what am I going to do? What injury could possibly explain this besides what actually happened?” He kissed Delphine’s forehead, winced, and passed her to Sebastian before rounding up breakfast.

“Kicked by a horse? Ran into a door? Mending a fence?”

“Okay, let me rephrase, what could possibly explain this that doesn’t make me look like an idiot? And if a horse kicked me in the face, I’m pretty sure I would be dead.”

“Aren’t you a little desperate to be so picky? Apple to the face?”

“There are no apples right now, Bash, the trees just blossomed. Also, my apples don’t have knives growing out of them.”

“Branch to the face?”

“Why on earth would I be in a tree if there are no apples to pick?”

“Because you’re courting Anne.”

“Good point, but that won’t work either.”

Sebastian’s eyes lit up, “How about you say, ‘It’s embarrassing, I don’t want to talk about it.’”

“I suppose that could work. But I’d still like to have an explanation. Agh! It hurts like hell. Even that girl’s mouth is strong. You just wouldn’t expect it with how small she is.”

“She’s scrappy, not to be underestimated, you think you would have learned that by now.”

“I don’t underestimate her, but I’m constantly surprised regardless.”

“Tell me Blythe, is it the teeth shaped cut or the acorn sized bruise and accompanying swelling that’s bothering you most?” Sebastian teased.

“I’d throw this biscuit at you, but I don’t want to waste perfection,” he took a bite, chewed and swallowed. “Actually, the inside hurts the worst, but we don’t need to get into that.”

“Let me see, let me see!” he reached for Gilbert’s lip and Gilbert swatted his hand away.

“Stop it! Don’t touch my lip, man! You’re so strange sometimes. Here,” he pulled his lip down gently so Sebastian could see the wound inside his mouth.

“Damn. That is… very, funny.”

“Excuse me?”

“Since I’ve met you, you have not had a single injury- besides some burns on your hands on the ship. You’ve been with Anne, what?” He counted. “Six days? You look like you’ve taken up boxing. The scratches from Saturday are mostly gone now, but you’re in rough shape.”

“Yeah, I’m painfully aware,” he said as he stood up.

“You sure she’s worth sacrificing your dreamy face?”

“Shut up,” Gilbert said, grabbing his satchel and throwing it over his head.

“If your dreaminess is gone, what will be left? Who are you without your looks? Do you even know?”

“I’m leaving, Bash. Thanks for your help,” he said sarcastically.

“You’re welcome! Happy to help, brother! Have a wonderful day! Oh Delly,” he said, he gaze falling upon his beautiful daughter. He continued in his voice reserved only for her, “Isn’t it wonderful to have such entertainment right here at home?”

\---

Anne came upon Gilbert in the woods that day, reading a book while waiting for her.

“Good morning, Gilbert! Marilla said your biscuits were fantastic and she said she’s proud of you for oh my god!”

He shut his book and slid it back into his satchel. “Yes, we have a problem.”

She reached up, cupped his cheek and gently touched the injury with her thumb, “Did I seriously do that to you?”

“Well, I’m blaming Bash, but yeah, your teeth and impressive jaw strength were the weapons of choice.”

“Well how on earth are we going to explain that?”

“ **You** don’t need to explain anything. It’s my face. The best we came up with this morning was to say that it’s embarrassing and I don’t want to talk about it and if that doesn’t deter people then I’ll say I was injured mending a fence.”

“No one is going to believe that, you could fix a fence with your eyes closed.”

“Do you have a better idea? Because I have nothing and it is unbelievably painful to talk so I’m all ears.”

“I am so sorry. Ugh, I can’t even kiss you properly, I’m completely mortified.”

“Anne, you were doing great until Sebastian scared you. You really have nothing to apologize for, it was just a reflex. Nothing you could do about it.”

“Still, I’m sorry I can’t come up with a better excuse. I’ve spent my entire life imagining things only to fail when my creativity is needed most. The irony is painful.”

“Not nearly as painful as my lip,” Gilbert argued, and proceeded to fill Anne in on his morning with Bash until they came upon Diana on the path.

“I think it’s best if you just walk with Diana this morning, I’ll run up ahead.” He kissed her cheek and jogged to get ahead of them, forgetting that fast flowing blood exacerbates throbbing in swollen bruises.

“Anne, what on earth happened to him?”

“Would you believe that he got hit in the face with a picket while mending a fence?” she asked hopefully.

“I most certainly would not! He could mend a fence with his eyes closed! He’s been doing it since he was five!”

“Damn.”

“Anne! Language!”

“Sorry, I’ve been spending a lot of time with Gilbert and Sebastian and they are a bit more laidback. Nothing like I heard at the orphanage or at the Hammonds’ though, thank goodness.”

“Anne, please focus, what happened to Gilbert?”

She took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “We were kissing yesterday and Bash walked in and scared us, on purpose I’ll have you know, and well, I was so surprised that I accidentally bit him and pushed him away from me at the same time. It didn’t look bad last night, but this morning he looks like a demon possessed! I feel just terrible. What am I going to do?”

“Just try to keep your composure would be my suggestion. At least you don’t have a matching wound like when you two fell down the hill. Just act aloof. For all anyone knows, there’s no way you had anything to do with it. Why would his neighbor be tied to the gaping, swollen wound on his face?”

She sighed, “Why indeed.”

They walked up to the school and met Ruby on the way to the board, “Good morning, Ruby!” Anne greeted her enthusiastically.

“Hi,” she said in a high pitched squeak. She then turned bright red and bit her lips together, before walking around them and into the school.

“Well, that was odd,” Anne commented.

“It really was. I hope she’s okay,” Diana shrugged before they continued on their way.

“Was there anything new posted on the board yesterday?”

“Not for you, sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about, I just didn’t want to miss anything.”

_Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in **pain** and in sickness it would still be dear._

Anne burst out laughing.

“And what is that one from?”

“Jane Eyre,” Anne continued laugh, and then on a sigh she whispered, “I love him so much.”

Diana smiled at her friend and reached for her hand, “Come on, let’s go inside.”

Anne and Diana were the last to enter the classroom, but still arrived with plenty of time to spare. Miss Stacy was seated, tapping her pencil on her desk, trying not to look at Gilbert’s face and trying even harder not to assume how the injury had occurred. She overheard something about a fence, but she didn’t believe it.

As soon as Anne sat down she heard Miss Stacy sternly say, “Anne Shirley Cuthbert, a word please?”

 _I have never been in trouble this much in my life, well yes I have, but this is getting embarrassing. I can’t think of anything I could have done already today to earn that tone._ She rose calmly from her seat and followed Miss Stacy through the door.

“Close the door and please take a seat.”

“Did I do something to upset you?”

“I’m not sure yet. Tell me that Gilbert’s injury was cause by a picket. Please, just look at me and tell me that.”

Anne was not a good liar, so she kept her mouth shut and looked away from her teacher.

“Please tell me you didn’t punch him.”

“I certainly did not punch him! I would **never**!”

“Anne, the slate?”

“That hardly qualifies as punching, Miss Stacy.”

“But I assume you have something to do with Gilbert’s injury.” She was answered with silence. “Anne, you certainly don’t have to tell me what happened, but know that I’m here for you if you ever need to talk. I know that relationships can be stressful, especially with two passionate individuals such as yourself, and keeping this relationship quiet has to be an added strain on top of everything else you’re going through. I know I’m your teacher and you might feel strange talking to me about this, but really, if you need a sounding board, I’m here.”

Anne had never spoken so quickly in her entire life. Not wanting to be over heard through the door, she lowered her voice and leaned forward toward her teacher, her eyes wide, “Oh Miss Stacy I’m absolutely humiliated. I went over to Gilbert’s house last night to teach him how to make biscuits and while we were waiting for them to bake we started kissing and Sebastian walked in on us and scared me to death and I had been nibbling on Gilbert’s lip but I was just so surprised by Sebastian’s greeting that I bit him! I **bit** him Miss Stacy! While I pushed him away from me! Couldn’t you just die? And it wasn’t accidental; Sebastian **wanted** to give us a fright. He did it on **purpose**! I didn’t think I hurt him that badly but then I saw him this morning and I almost started crying! I feel just awful! He can barely talk because he’s in such pain and there’s nothing I can do to make it better and he just has to sit there and take all the embarrassment alone and no one is going to believe that he got injured fixing a fence but we couldn’t come up with anything better!”

Miss Stacy was failing to stifle her laughter, “And how were the biscuits?”

She slumped back on the bench, “They were perfect. We usually work really well together. You know- when we aren’t falling down hills or arguing or… eating each other.” Anne started giggling the absurdity of it all, causing Miss Stacy to burst out laughing. Anne tried to keep her voice low and stop laughing, “Oh, Miss Stacy I am just a disaster! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gilbert injured before and now just look at him after a week with me! He’s horribly disfigured! What am I going to do? At this rate he’s going to start losing limbs in a month!”

Miss Stacy, still laughing, walked over and sat next to Anne, hugging her, “Anne, do you love him?”

“I do, Miss Stacy, most ardently.”

“And does he love you?”

“He says he does. He says he’s going to marry me, I just need to say when.”

“Oh Anne, you are so very lucky to have found each other and you have nothing to worry about. Is Gilbert going to be a little embarrassed for the day? Probably. Would he give up even a second with you to spare his momentary discomfort? I expect not. I have watched him watch you for a couple years now. You are his spark, Anne. I very much doubt that he is at all upset with you for this situation. I assume Sebastian didn’t fare so well however.”

Anne was able to speak softer now since Miss Stacy was sitting so close, “I have a hard time even imagining Gilbert being this mad, but he told me he yelled at Sebastian all morning, beat him up with his pillow, threatened to pour cold water on him and made him help brainstorm ideas to explain the injury, only to once again bear the brunt of Sebastian’s teasing. He said Gilbert should just be happy it was his lip and not his tongue, though I dare say a tongue injury would be easier to hide.”

Miss Stacy lost it again.

“Shhh! Shhh! Miss Stacy, he asked him if I was worth sacrificing his dreamy face for and asked if Gilbert even knew who he was without his good looks!”

While their conversation was subdued, their laughter was not. They were now both laughing so loudly that they could be heard through the closed door even over the din of conversations being carried on throughout the room.

“Gilbert,” Moody elbowed him, “Go see what’s going on in there.”

“Absolutely not.” As always, Gilbert was sitting with his head in a book, though this time he was hoping to hide, not really caring if he was learning anything.

“There is no way that injury came from a fence.”

He shut the book and turned toward his friend, “Really Moody? You think?”

“I tried to go over to your place last night.”

“What do you mean you tried?”

“I mean that when I got there, I could see that you were busy and chose not to interrupt.”

Gilbert pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. _This can’t be happening._

“What I don’t get,” Moody continued, “is how you ended up looking like that; it looked like you both knew what you were doing.”

“How long were you spying on us?”

“Don’t blame me, I was shocked! My brain had a hard time processing what I was seeing, I mean, you and Anne? Who thought that would ever actually happen?”

“Me. But thank you for your vote of confidence. And we **do** know what we’re doing. Sebastian thought it would be funny to scare us and she accidentally bit me. Moody, you can’t tell anyone, please, she wants to keep it quiet until after the examinations.”

“Why? Everyone knows you’ve liked her forever.”

“She just wants to be able to prepare for the exams without everyone prodding into our relationship.”

“So it’s not because she’s embarrassed to be with you?” he teased.

“Nice,” Gilbert scoffed.

Moody laughed, “Well, then you should probably know, Ruby saw you too.”

“ **What**?! Why were you and Ruby coming to see me?”

“I was coming to ask you more advice regarding Ruby. Ruby had just come from Green Gables and needed something from Anne. We happened to meet on the path so we arrived at your house at the same time.”

“When you **both** saw us…”

“Together, yes.”

“This is not good. I don’t doubt your ability to keep this to yourself, but **Ruby**?”

“Yeah. She is not good at hiding things.”

“Can you talk to her?”

“Why me?”

“Because you like her, and she’s nearly as obsessed with you now as she used to be with me,” Gilbert smiled arrogantly.

“Well, **that** was uncalled for. I thought you were trying to get me to do you a favor.”

“I’m giving you an excuse to talk about something romantic with the girl you are infatuated with. Who is doing who the favor? Just ask if she wants to have lunch with you and talk to her about it. If you need to, you can join Anne and me, but honestly, I’d rather you not, she’s not going to take this well.”

Just then Anne and Miss Stacy entered the room, faces red from laughter.

“My sincere apologies class, please take out something with which you can take notes, we are going to begin with the science behind the weather.”

\---

After a relatively uneventful morning, Anne and Gilbert took their lunch on some boulders near the brook.

“So what were you talking about with Miss Stacy this morning that was so humorous?”

“Mostly what a disaster of a human being I am.”

“Oh good, I thought you were laughing at me.”

“Oh Gilbert, I told her everything about how you were injured, but we were definitely only laughing at me. Well, and Sebastian. He is **funny**. Miss Stacy certainly thought so anyway.”

“He’s funnier when you’re not the one he’s teasing, I’ll give you that,” Gilbert paused and took a bite of his sandwich. After swallowing, he began tentatively, “Anne, I have some, interesting news. Possibly bad? No. Let’s go with interesting.”

She ceased moving. “I’m scared.”

“Don’t be, it’ll be fine, just try to stay calm, I think I already took care of the problem and I’m confident that everything will be fine.”

She was not staying calm. At all. “Okay, now I’m really scared.”

“So, last night, Ruby stopped by Green Gables to speak with you and Marilla mentioned you were helping teach me to bake.”

“No.”

“And on her way over to my house, she ran into Moody, who was on his way over to ask me if I could give him any advice regarding Ruby.”

“No.” Her heart began racing, as she assumed the rest of the story.

“So they came over and saw us…”

She was shaking her head, trying to make him stop talking. Her face paled and she started sweating and breathing heavily. “No. No. No, no, no, no, no.”

“Yeah. They both definitely saw us kissing. For a few minutes apparently.”

Gilbert was sounding farther and farther away and her own voice sounded distorted as her vision was narrowing, “Why would they watch us? How dare they spy on us **in your home**!” Her breaths were shortening now and she was growing more worked up, she was looking around and blinking hard over and over again.

Gilbert stood quickly and went over and crouched in front of her, snapping in front of her eyes, “Anne? Anne?” he steadied her head, holding her chin with his fingers so he could look into her eyes “Look at me Anne, I’m right in front of you. Listen to me- I need you to put your head between your knees.”

“This is not the time for games Gilbert!” she yelled at him, drawing some attention from others.

He tried to stay calm and quiet, “I agree, do it now or you’re going to pass out,” he said as he placed his hand gently on the back of her head and tried to push it down, “Anne do not fight me on this, please just listen to me.”

“Gilbert, what’s going on?” Diana came running over, concerned.

He stood to speak with her, “I think she’s having a panic attack, I need her to put her head between her knees, but she’s fighting me and I don’t want to hurt her and everyone is watching.”

“Anne, sweetie, listen to Gilbert please,” Diana sat next to her, hugged her tightly and gently moved her body down toward her legs.

“Diana, can you please rub her back for me?” He was nearly crying in frustration of not being able to hold her because they were at school. He put his hands on his head and looked up to the sky, trying to calm himself down and suppress his emotion.

“Gilbert,” Diana asked gently, seeing that Gilbert was distressed, “what did you say to her that caused this?”

He took a shaky breath. “Apparently Moody and Ruby saw us kissing last night. I told Moody to talk to Ruby about keeping this quiet, but I haven’t heard how their talk went yet.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Diana said, “I’m going to go tell Miss Stacy about Anne and then I’ll talk to them.”

He crouched down in front of Anne. He took her hand so he could take her pulse at her wrist. It was mostly an excuse to touch her, but he was relieved to feel her heart rate was returning to normal. “Anne please try to relax, they didn’t mean to be intrusive, they just happened to see us before knocking and then they were too shocked to process it before realizing they shouldn’t be watching us. Can you please talk to me so I know you’re alright?”

Miss Stacy was ringing the bell for the students to return to the classroom. “Everyone back inside please, continue your lunches and give Anne some space.”

“Could this day get any more embarrassing?”

He laughed, happy to hear her personality return. “I’m sure it could, do you really want to put that challenge out into the universe?”

Miss Stacy rushed over to them. “Diana told me everything, Anne, are you alright?”

She was still hunched over, reluctant to rise and face the embarrassment, “I think I’m fine, Miss Stacy, just embarrassed. Again.”

“Gilbert, is there any medical reason that she can’t return to class?”

“From what I’ve read she’s going to have trouble focusing and she’s probably going to be incredibly tired. A panic attack, while not really dangerous, can take an extreme toll on the body.”

“So what would you recommend?”

“I would recommend we listen to what she wants to do or she’s going to yell at us.”

“Too true. Anne, how are you feeling?”

“I’m very tired Miss Stacy, but I’d like to try to come back to class.”

“Of course you would,” Miss Stacy said doubtfully, “Stand up and walk back to the schoolhouse.”

Anne stood, took a step and immediately started falling but Gilbert was prepared and was able to catch her.

“I don’t think so. Gilbert, do you mind taking her home? To Green Gables?”

“Of course not, Miss Stacy. Anne, I’m just going to go grab our things and I’ll be right back,” he said before helping her sit back down.

Gilbert jogged to the building and when he entered the room he was bombarded with questions regarding Anne as he walked around trying to round up their things.

“What happened?” “Is she okay?” “Is she ill?” “Is she hurt?”

“Look, Anne is going to be fine, she just needs to rest. If you need more information than that, you can ask her about it tomorrow or preferably next week. Give her a chance to recover.”

“And let me guess,” Josie sneered, “ **You’re** the one who is going to take her home?”

“Yes I am. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No problem at all. It just seems you’ve been spending an awful lot of time together.”

“Because Miss Stacy told us we need to study together during lunch for two weeks?”

“I’m just saying it **always** seems to be you two stuck together. And you haven’t just been studying during lunch. No one enjoys studying that much. Not even you two bookworms. Plus, we all know you wrote those notices and we all saw you holding her hand just a minute ago.”

“No, you didn’t. You all saw me taking her pulse so I could verify that her heart rate was normalizing, haven’t you ever been to the doctor? Look, I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at Josie, but yes, Anne and I are close; very close. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. We have a lot in common. We are neighbors and good friends. The Cuthberts supported me after my dad died; in fact, they were the only ones in this entire town who offered me any help after the funeral was over. Anne was a very close friend of Mary, who was like a sister to me, and we grieved her death together. She and Marilla both continue to help Bash and I take care of Delphine and the house and I help out at Green Gables when I can so Matthew doesn’t have to work so hard. If you have a problem with any of that I suggest you ask yourself why my relationship with Anne bothers you so much, because I can’t fathom a reason it should concern you at all. I wouldn’t expect the lives of two poor orphans to interest you all that much. Now,” he said, his tone softening as he addressed the entire class “Is there anyone here who knows how to help Anne should she fall ill again on the way back to Green Gables **and** is strong enough to carry her should she not be able to complete the trip under her own volition?”

He made a show of looking around the room, “No?” he stared at Josie, “Well, look at that, Anne and I, together again; how fortuitous. Diana, can I speak with you?”

They moved toward the door under the scrutiny of the entire class and Diana whispered, “That was quite the speech; I wish Anne could have heard it!”

“Yeah, me too, hopefully it wasn’t too much. Can you do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Can you give me a hug to really make her mad?”

Diana laughed, “Nothing would make me happier.”

She hugged him as tight as she could and whispered to him, “Thanks for helping our girl.”

 **“** I didn’t really have a choice, I’m really afraid of what her best friend will do to me if any harm comes to her.”

She laughed and playfully hit him as he walked out of the door.

“Sorry for the delay,” he said as he returned to Miss Stacy and Anne, “We have some curious classmates. Anne, just so you are aware: everyone in the building is watching us. That being said, can you walk or do I need to carry you?”

“I can walk until we get around the hedge. I think.”

Gilbert made sure to maintain his distance as Miss Stacy helped her up. Anne was pleased to find she didn’t struggle at all.

“There! Maybe I’m fine!”

“It won’t last. I doubt you’ll make it back to Green Gables without some help. We’ll see you tomorrow Miss Stacy.”

“Be safe, see you both tomorrow.”

They were about halfway to Green Gables when Anne decided she couldn’t go on. Her eyes were heavy and her body was weak.

“I don’t think I can keep going,” she said as she slowed.

“So do you want me to carry you in my arms or would you like to ride on my back?”

“Neither of those options is particularly dignified.”

“Anne, please forget dignity and just let me help you.”

Her exhaustion was obvious by her quick acquiescence. “I think I’ll be more comfortable and cause you less strain if I ride on your back.”

“I agree.” He squatted down, inviting her to climb onto him.

Gilbert carried her silently for a while before voicing his frustration. “Anne, why didn’t you listen to me right away? Why did it take Diana coming over and pushing you down? I knew how to help you and you didn’t listen. Do you know how hard it was for me to watch you nearly pass out before me, not be able to comfort you and then not even have you listen to my advice? I know I’m not a doctor yet, but I have some medical training and I knew what to do. I need you to trust me.”

Anne’s chin was resting on his shoulder, her mouth was near his ear and she spoke quietly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fight you on it, I just wasn’t thinking. I couldn’t think. But you said there was no real danger anyway.”

“If you fainted and hit your head that would’ve been a different situation. I know you don’t like being told what to do, but there are certain times and situations when I actually do know more than you and I would like you to listen to me when that happens. Please?” he was not above begging.

She turned her head, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “Mmhmm,” she affirmed, before falling asleep.

\---

“Gilbert! What happened this time?”

“Good afternoon Ms. Cuthbert, Mrs. Lynde,” _Why does she have to be here?_ “I’m just going to get Anne settled into her room and I’ll be right back down to explain everything.”

He slowly climbed the stairs, walked to Anne’s room and sat down on her bed, releasing her legs and unwrapping her arms from his neck. He gently guided her head to her pillow, found a blanket and draped it over her. “Anne,” he whispered in her ear, “I love you and I will be back as soon as I can.” He kissed her cheek and left her to rest.

He tried to produce an appearance of nonchalance and casually sauntered down the stairs into the kitchen.

“Gilbert, is she alright? What happened?”

“She’s fine Ms. Cuthbert, she had an episode at school and she’s just worn out.”

“An episode? What kind of episode?”

“I’ve only read about it, it’s called a panic attack and it’s harmless, really, she’ll be just fine and it won’t leave any lasting effects. It’s a great exertion of energy by her body though, so once she gets some sleep, she will be good as new.”

“And what about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your lip, boy,” Rachel chimed in, “What happened to your lip?”

“Oh sorry, I forgot. I’d rather not talk about it, it’s a bit embarrassing, but it’s Bash’s fault. We can just leave it at that.” _Please don’t ask questions. Please._ “I’m actually a bit parched from carrying her, could I trouble you for a glass of water? I’d also like to bring some up to Anne if you don’t mind. She should rehydrate as soon as she wakes.” 

“Certainly.” Marilla poured two glasses of water and set them on the table.

Gilbert took a deep breath, “Ms. Cuthbert I was wondering-”

“Gilbert, would you like to stay with her? It’d be nice to keep you close in case anything else happens.”

He released the breath and smiled, relieved that she knew what he was trying to ask. “Thank you, Ms. Cuthbert.”

“And I assume that when she wakes, she will require some fresh air, so I expect you’ll need to go on a walk. For curative purposes, of course.”

“Marilla!” Rachel was shocked.

He laughed and nodded, “I do believe you can read my mind; I was going to suggest that very thing. You have an impressive understanding of medicine Ms. Cuthbert.”

She walked over to him and embraced him, “Thank you for taking such good care of her.”

“You’ll never need to worry about her in my care, I promise.”

After Gilbert had gone upstairs with the water Marilla prepared herself for the admonishment of her friend but all Rachel said was, “Well. You can tell John Blythe raised that boy, that’s for sure and certain. Completely besotted with a Cuthbert girl; like father, like son.”

Later, when Marilla went up to check on them, they were both sleeping. Gilbert was seated on the floor leaning against the bed as he held Anne’s hand in both of his on his lap.

\---

He awoke to Anne playing with his hair.

“You fell asleep,” she whispered.

“I was tired. I had to carry you halfway home. You’re light enough, but once you fell asleep and you weren’t really holding on it wasn’t exactly an easy trip. I don’t want to make your day worse, but can you handle more bad news?”

“No, but go ahead.”

“Rachel was here when we arrived. I’m fairly certain she already knew.”

“If she knows, why hasn’t she said anything?”

“I think because she would have to answer to Marilla. Would you want to do that?”

“No. I have, and it never ends well.”

“Marilla suggested, and I agreed, that you could use some fresh air as part of your recovery. Would you be up for a walk?”

“That sounds delightful. I really am feeling much better. Just like you said I would, Doctor Blythe.”

He laughed and kissed the back of her hand. “I can never tell if you say that to me lovingly or if you’re mocking me.”

“It’s somewhere between adoration and complete captivation, I’m afraid.”

He stood, never letting go of her hand, and pulled her up to him. “You need never be afraid of anything with me, Carrots.”

“If you only knew how you affect me, Gilbert Blythe. I dare say I’m thankful I know you would never abuse the knowledge.”

\---

They chose to walk down to the river, where they could sit on the bridge out of view, for few people went down there this late in the afternoon. Anne sat down, took off her shoes and stockings and dangled her feet in the water. Gilbert did the same for a while before bringing his feet up and lying on his back on the edge of the bridge, his head resting in her lap.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Josie.”

She laughed, “Why would you be thinking about Josie right now?”

“When I went into get our things, Josie was insinuating that we were hiding something.”

“Well, she’s not stupid and we are hiding something.”

“Wow, you took that really well.”

“I think I’m out of dramatic reactions for the day. What did you tell her?”

He summarized his lecture. “And then I pulled Diana aside and asked her to hug me just to make her mad.”

“You didn’t!”

“I did. I can’t stand her, Anne. Why can’t she just leave people be?”

“I assume some deep seeded insecurity. We really are quite entwined in each other’s lives, aren’t we?

“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”

She laughed, “You’ve certainly proven that to be true.”

They sat in companionable silence for a while and Gilbert began to doze.

“We need the tonic of wildness,” Anne began reciting from Walden, leaning back on her right arm as she used her left to play with his hair, “At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough nature.”

She breathed deeply and closed her eyes as she raised her head to the sky, losing herself in a moment of pure bliss. She could not remember ever before being so perfectly at peace. They both thoroughly enjoyed every moment they were spending together until the snapping of twigs frightened Anne and her reaction sent Gilbert flying off the small bridge.

Anne was standing before she realized how her actions had affected Gilbert.

He regained his footing, shook his hair out and wiped his face off with his hands. “Well, Anne,” he stood in the shallow water next to the bridge with his hands on his hips glaring up at her, sopping wet. “That was unpleasant.”

He waited for her to talk, but she just stood there with her hands covering her mouth, eyes wide with shock.

“Is there a reason that you just threw me into the water?”

She noticed how his wet clothes clung to every bit of his body and started looking around nervously, feeling that she was seeing something she shouldn’t, “I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry! I heard something in the woods and it just startled me!”

“You were startled… so you threw me into the water… I think you might want to consider working on appropriate reactions to stimuli because from where I’m standing, soaking wet, in a river, that reaction might’ve been just a bit extreme, don’t you think?”

 _How dare he talk about appropriate reactions to stimuli, looking at me like that!_ “Someone could have seen us!” She tried defending herself, looking anywhere that wasn’t Gilbert, afraid that if she looked at him, her thoughts would betray her.

“So wake me and tell me to sit up!” he took a breath. “Anne? Why won’t you look at me?”

“No reason!”

“Embarrassed that you brought yet another calamity upon me?”

“Nope, that’s not it. I think I should be getting back, Marilla is expecting me for dinner.” She started walking away.

“Anne?”

“Yes, Gilbert?” she said without turning to him.

He laughed, “Don’t you need your shoes?”

“Umm,” she paused weighing her options, finally concluding that she certainly couldn’t leave her shoes and stockings here, “Yes, yes I do.” She walked back, sat down in front of him, and worked as quickly as she could.

He watched her for a bit and then said, “You really can’t even look at me?”

“No, no I can’t.”

“Anne, tell me what’s going on, you can trust me.”

She stood and stared him straight in the eye, “It’s not you who I don’t trust.” She kissed his top lip so as to avoid hurting him and ran off toward Green Gables.

Gilbert remained in the water, “What just happened?” he asked no one.

\---

Gilbert walked into his house and held out his arms, prepared for the barrage of teasing that was sure to come his way. “So?” he said, “let’s get this over with; let me have it.”

Sebastian had been standing by the stove, but fell to the ground in a fit of laughter.

“Well?”

He eventually climbed up on the bench, “I don’t think I have the words for this. What the hell did she do to you this time?”

“We were down at the river and I fell asleep with my head on her lap. Something scared her, she stood up and I flew into the water.”

“Well, that’s not so bad actually.”

“That wasn’t the weird part. I mean, it was a rude awakening, and now I’m soaked through, but it’s what she did after that I didn’t get.”

“What’d she do?”

“She wouldn’t look at me and tried to rush home. I had to remind her to put her shoes on; she tried to leave without them. I asked her what was wrong but she wouldn’t tell me, so I reminded her that she can trust me, said it wasn’t me she couldn’t trust, gave me a quick kiss and then left me there.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be smart?”

“I **am** smart. But they don’t teach relationships in school. And even if they did I doubt Anne would be covered.”

“You’re an idiot, Blythe.”

Gilbert was rubbing his temples with his eyes shut tight, “Please just tell me what happened. I’ve had a long day. I’m tired, confused, in pain and cold.”

“Alright. I imagine that right after you took your swim, your clothes were clinging to your body, because that’s what happens.”

“So?”

“So I assume that Anne has not seen you like that before and found that your state did not leave much left for the imagination.”

“Oh,” Gilbert said, putting all the pieces together, “I hadn’t considered that.”

“Who knows why,” he said as he pointed at Gilbert, “but your girl is into that.”

Gilbert smiled and looked up hopefully, “Really?”

“Does it really come as a surprise? She said she’d marry you. Don’t you think she’d be attracted to you?”

“She said I looked like I fell out of a fairy tale, but I guess I didn’t really consider the implications. And I definitely wouldn’t expect that kind of reaction from her just from looking at me.”

Sebastian watched him for a minute as he stared off into space. “Wipe that goofy smile off your face boy and go change your clothes. We have work to do.”


	5. Friday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friday morning was more than Gilbert signed up for. Anne provides comfort and learns some stuff. Diana is the best friend they could ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! I feel like a slacker because this chapter is only Friday morning, but that also means there will be another chapter covering Friday afternoon/evening. So, yay? Sorry to kill the mood with the beginning of this one, but it needed to happen and y'all know I'll always give you a happy ending.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with the story! I hope you like this chapter!

Gilbert woke on Friday before dawn, hearing something that was all too common, but that he would never get used to. He hated it, the crying didn’t bother him, but knowing there was nothing he could do to help made him angry. Grief wasn’t something that Gilbert could fix, and he liked to be able to fix things. He quietly walked down the hall to Sebastian’s room and knocked softly before opening the door, “Hey, Bash? You okay?”

Sebastian was sitting on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands and he shook his head. Gilbert walked over to him, sat down next to him and hugged him tightly, because that’s all he could do.

Sebastian tried to collect himself and shuddered on an exhale. “Some days are just harder than others; that is all.”

Gilbert continued hugging him for a minute before he had a realization and lessened his hold. “Hey Bash, does it bother you? Seeing Anne and I together? I’m so sorry I hadn’t even thought about it, but we can stop, you know being so happy in front of you, and if it’s easier she doesn’t even need to come over here for a while. Would that help? I’m sure she would understand.”

He was calming a bit, appreciative of the distraction from the thoughts in his head. “Don’t be dumb, Blythe. I enjoy having Anne here. That girl makes me laugh and you two being together is much less annoying than when you weren’t. More than that, we need her help. I don’t mind seeing you together; if anything it gives me hope and it helps me remember. Plus, I have found that teasing you is extremely effective medicine for my pain. Most of the time, anyway. I feel cheated a bit, that is all. It took me so long to find Mary and had so little time with her. Every new little thing Delphine does. Even watching you and Anne together, she would have loved that. I just wish she were here.”

“We all do.” Gilbert thought on it for a minute, “Would it help to have someone to talk to who might understand better what you’re going through? Losing my dad was awful but it isn’t at all the same as what I imaging losing a wife is like.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I don’t know how much comfort I would get from talking about my feelings with some old white codger who probably doesn’t even think I’m capable of having feelings.”

“No, no. I was thinking Miss Stacy, actually. Did you know she was married? I don’t know the circumstances of her life before coming to Avonlea last year, but I know she lost her husband. She might be able to help. She really liked Mary too, I’m sure she would be a good friend for you to have during this time. Plus, you both are amused and frustrated by Anne and me right now, so you have that in common.”

Sebastian chuckled softly. “I think that would be nice. Another person to make fun of you with would be fantastic. You’re getting a little too confident for my liking; need to bring you down a peg or two.”

“Great. Maybe consider letting me invite her over before you make me regret my suggestion? Do you want me to ask her to stop by later after school?”

“Sure. Why not. Thank you, Gilbert.”

“You know you never have to hide what you’re feeling from me right? Everything you feel is normal and expected. Hell, I’m just glad you’re still here.”

“What do you mean? Where would I go?”

Gilbert stood and walked toward the door, “When my dad died, I ended up in Trinidad. If I lost Anne, you probably wouldn’t be able to find me; I think I would just keep running.”

“No you wouldn’t, you have family here now.”

He stopped at the door, turned back and thought on it. “Maybe you’re right, but I’m hoping to never have to find out. Hey- since I’m up early I’m going to take some of the biscuits I made last night over to Green Gables. I want Marilla’s opinion.”

“Getting the mother’s favor, of course. Though that woman already thinks you can do no wrong.”

“Yes, I’m aware she likes me just fine, but that was not of my doing, and I’m not going to take her blessing for granted.”

“What do you mean it ‘wasn’t your doing’?”

“She and my father courted for a time. He asked her to travel with him, but she felt obligated to stay home and take care of her family. After my dad died, it was her words ‘obligation can be a prison’ that encouraged me to get out and see the world.”

“So you think she trusts you just because you are John’s boy?” he laughed softly. _That boy is so slow sometimes._ “That may have given you a start, but you earned your value in her life Gilbert. No amount of old flame bias would sway Marilla’s opinion **that** much. Not enough to get approval to court Anne. I’ve spent a lot of time with Marilla. She has never even mentioned your dad. She admires you though, for who you are, what you want to do with your life and for how you treat others. She knows she can trust you with her Anne.”

“It doesn’t… it doesn’t feel like I’ve done enough. It feels like there is so much I still need to do to prove myself to her. And of course Matthew as well obviously… does that make any sense?”

Sebastian feigned shock grabbing onto the edge of the bed, “Hold on. Are you saying you don’t think you’re worthy of Queen Anne?”

Gilbert thought about it. “No… I don’t think I am.”

“Good. As long as you remember that you aren’t good enough for her, you will be.”

\---

“Anne, good morning, how are you feeling today? Better than last night I hope.” When Anne had returned from her walk with Gilbert, she appeared flushed and wasn’t able to eat much. Assuming she was just lost in her head, Marilla didn’t press the matter and let her go to bed early.

But sleep didn’t come easily for Anne, shocked at how her heart was beating while she looked at Gilbert in the river and embarrassed by the fact that she had run away from him yet again after promising she was done running only a week earlier. When she finally slept, it was fitfully and she was left exhausted and frustrated the next day.

“I’m doing fine, Marilla, I promise,” Anne said weakly.

“You don’t sound fine. Is there something on your mind?”

She was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what she was going to ask. “How many times do you think that I can cause Gilbert bodily harm before he gives up on me?”

Marilla stopped stirring her batter and stood akimbo, “What’s that now?”

Anne sat down and put her elbows on the table to prop up her head up with her hands. “I keep accidentally wounding him and throwing him in rivers. I’m just wondering how long I have until he figures out I’m not worth the trouble.”

“Fiddlesticks. That boy isn’t going anywhere. I’m not saying you have the right to treat him poorly, but accidents happen, Anne. I assume you only hit him in the head on purpose the one time?”

“Yes, Marilla.”

“Then stop worrying, you’ll make yourself sick. Again. And all for nothing. Has he given any indication that he is losing interest?”

“No… I think I know deep down he won’t leave, but Marilla, I tossed him in the river! I got his face all scratched up! I almost bit his lip off!”

“Anne Shirley-Cuthbert! **What** did you do? I cannot believe that boy lied to me, he said it was Sebastian’s fault!”

“Relax Marilla, Gilbert would never lie to you, you know that. It **was** Sebastian’s fault. We were kissing and Sebastian frightened us.”

“You shouldn’t be doing that!”

“Oh please, you mean to tell me you never kissed John? I find that highly improbable.”

“And just what are you implying?”

“I’m implying, Marilla, that if Gilbert is anything like his father, and I hear the resemblance in both appearance and personality is uncanny, there is no way you could have resisted his charm. And honestly, I don’t think you would want to. Also, you’re the one who said that when someone loves me, that’s when I’ll be kissed. You should be happy to have been proven correct and having been aware of our feelings for each other, you should have assumed that we have kissed.”

“You have gotten awfully cheeky since the development of this relationship, young lady. I suggest you check that attitude before it gets you into trouble.” There was a knock at the door. “And we may have kissed, but I certainly never bit him.” She opened the door, “Gilbert! Good morning! What brings you by so early? You don’t need to leave for school for another thirty minutes!”

“I accidently woke before dawn today, so I figured I’d make the most of it. I attempted making biscuits by myself last night and I wanted your opinion.”

“ **My** opinion?”

“Of course, you’re the best baker I know.”

“Stop ingratiating yourself to her Gilbert.”

“I will not. I but I actually do want her opinion. She’s less biased than you are. And I think she’ll be less mean if I fail.”

Marilla took the offering and enjoyed a bite. “Gilbert these are fantastic. Excellent work.”

Gilbert handed Anne a biscuit with a proud smile on his face. “Thank you Ms. Cuthbert. In that case, you can keep the rest of them. I probably shouldn’t have made any more since we had so many already, but I wanted to practice before I forgot what to do.”

“Thank you, Gilbert. I’m thinking though that you also wanted to prove that Anne did actually go over there to teach you to make biscuits?” She took the basket and brought it over to the table. “Your lip looks much better today, by the way.”

He was cautious with his response. “Yeah, luckily the swelling has gone down so hopefully today I don’t need to deal with any more questions about it.”

“Anne just mentioned that she doesn’t think you would lie to me, so let me ask you a question, Gilbert. If I were to ask you exactly how you got that injury, would you tell me?”

Anne started laughing.

“Um, yes, I suppose I would, but I wouldn’t like it, and I don’t think you would either.”

“So you admit to doing things I wouldn’t approve of?” Anne’s laughter stopped.

In that moment Gilbert couldn’t help but wonder how the mood of a room could shift so abruptly. _All I wanted to do was share my biscuits and walk Anne to school. How did it come to this?_ “Anne and I were kissing while waiting for the biscuits to bake and Sebastian snuck in and shouted at us because he thought it would be funny. And it was, but unfortunately, as a reflex, Anne bit my lip, causing the cut and the swelling. I want to be clear that I don’t intend on ever doing anything with Anne that I would have to lie to you about and I swear to you I treat her with nothing but respect. And I certainly would never push Anne to do anything she isn’t completely comfortable with. Even though I initiated our first kiss, I waited for her to come to me. I understand better than anyone that you don’t attempt to tell Anne what to do.”

“So it was a lie of omission then.”

“Marilla! Why are you doing this?”

 _Why didn’t I just meet her in the woods?_ “Not intentionally. I don’t talk about kissing Anne with anyone, not even Bash and he’s the closest friend I’ve ever had, although I did ask Bash for some help with finding an excuse for the injury to tell our classmates. I’m not someone who easily opens up to people; I don’t know if it’s because I value my privacy or that for so long there was no one to confide in so it just became a habit. If Anne wants to share anything about our relationship with you, I don’t mind but I don’t see that it’s my place, and **definitely** not with Mrs. Lynde here, if you don’t mind me saying. I know you are friends, but that also means that you know her gossip can do harm, whether intended or not. I appreciate that she seems to have been able to keep our relationship a secret but what do you think she’d say about this?” 

“Both of you sit down, right now.” They sat silently. “Allow me to speak plainly. I have no problem with you kissing. I can see that you have nothing but respect and admiration for each other. But you need to understand that anyone could have seen you.”

“Moody and Ruby did. Gilbert told me yesterday at lunch and that’s what set off my panic attack,” Anne admitted.

“And what if it **had** been Rachel Lynde? Or William Barry? What then? Either one of them could have paid a visit.”

“If it **had** been Rachel I suppose we’d either have listened to an hour lecture on propriety or she’d have rushed us to the church to get married. We assumed we had some privacy in my own house,” Gilbert said bitterly, “Apparently that was a mistake. I promise, we **have** been careful, Ms. Cuthbert. Even on our walk yesterday we didn’t even hold hands and Anne only gave me a quick kiss good-bye, that’s it.”

“And going to and from school we’ve been just as careful and we meet up with Diana so then it’s the three of us walking together. We barely speak to each other at school except when we are arguing, which is what we have always done. And then Miss Stacy makes us study together during lunch, so we talk then too, but we never touch, I promise. Except when I was sick yesterday.”

“Why would Miss Stacy make you study together?”

“Because one of our arguments got a little out of hand and she was afraid I was going to hit him. She knows about our relationship now, but has insisted we study together for a couple weeks so we can figure out how to act normally in the classroom. And it actually has helped us I think.”

“So, you’re telling me that Matthew, Jerry, Rachel and therefore Thomas, Sebastian, Muriel, Moody, Diana, Ruby and I **all** know about your **secret** relationship?”

Gilbert cleared his throat, “Yes ma’am.”

“And Anne, has the world ended?”

“Felt like it was going to yesterday honestly.”

“Wouldn’t you feel less pressure if it was just out in the open? Then you wouldn’t be worried about keeping the secret.”

“No! I wouldn’t! After all the attention and comments there are apparently a whole bunch of rules we will need to follow regarding courtship and I’m just not ready for them! I don’t want a chaperone with us at all times, Marilla, and not because we want to do anything indecorous! Most the time when we are together, we are just talking to each other, learning about each other. Isn’t that what we should be doing? Why should someone have to sit in on our conversation? It’s not fair that while you are trying to learn about your potential life mate you should feel the additional scrutiny of sharing your secrets with another who may not feel obliged to keeping your confidence! I trust very few people with information about my past Marilla, you know that, but I’ve told Gilbert things about that period of time that I’ve never told **anyone** else, because he **needs** to know Marilla, if he really wants to commit the rest of his life to me, he needs to know why I am the way I am and what I’ve been through. No one else needs to hear it and I wouldn’t have shared it had anyone else been listening in. Why are we able to spend time alone together as friends, but if we’re courting it’s forbidden? Who is to say we should just never admit our relationship so we can actually enjoy our relationship?”

“Gilbert, do you understand the difference?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said quietly.

“And I assume you know how a child is conceived.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Anne, same question,”

“Not entirely, no.”

“This is not how I thought my morning was going to go,” Marilla said under her breath.

“Me neither,” Gilbert whispered and rolled his eyes, putting his head down on his arms resting on the table.

“Chaperones are for your protection, Anne. I know you don’t intend on doing anything besides kissing and talking, but kissing too often leads to other things and too often, and I’m not saying you would do this, Gilbert, men take advantage of the naiveté of women, and it’s the woman who ends up pregnant and disgraced.”

Anne was suddenly standing and started pacing around the room. “Then someone needs to teach me and the other young women how it happens so we can be responsible for our own safety and decisions! How are we supposed to avoid it when we don’t know what it is? It is absolutely absurd! Everyone acts as though knowing would lead to more problems but don’t you think that maybe educating young women would prevent the scandals you are afraid of? I can’t think of one person who, given the option, would say, ‘Why yes, I want to do this! I’ve always wanted to have my name dragged through the mud and raise a child alone with no money.’ No one would take that risk! But I saw dozens of young women return to the asylum pregnant and weeping, screaming to matron that they weren’t aware what they did could lead to a child or that things were done to them against their will. Let us be responsible for our own bodies instead of waiting for something to happen to them without our knowledge or consent!”

“I agree,” said Gilbert, “Ms. Cuthbert, the other day my female classmates were told that intelligent and passionate women are unable to bear children.”

“Well if that isn’t the strangest thing I’ve heard all day. And that’s saying something since I was just informed that Anne almost bit your lip off.”

“I just think that young women, and perhaps even young men, get into trouble because they get caught up in the moment not realizing what the result could be. I’m thinking that if we were taught something regarding human reproduction, a lot of trouble could be avoided.”

“And just how did you come by this knowledge young man?”

“Nine months on a steamer Ms. Cuthbert. I actually had to lie about my age to get hired aboard. Most the men I was working with were between 18 and 30 I suppose. And they were not exactly modest about their ‘conquests.’” Gilbert looked disgusted as he spat out the word. “Those of us who were more respectful of women tried to stick together, but the conversations of others were hard to not overhear. Bash and I also helped a prostitute deliver her baby in Trinidad, so that was quite an experience.”

“What?” Anne’s eyes went wide.

“And now I’m studying medicine in my free time, so I’ve a rudimentary understanding of human biology.”

“You delivered a baby?!”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s that. Anne, please ask Miss Stacy if she wouldn’t mind teaching you about the matter. You may tell her she has my permission to do so, Gilbert you can confirm this message. If she would like to speak with me prior to your discussion, she may.”

“Yes Marilla,” Anne responded.

“Gilbert, I want you to know that I **do** trust you. There is no other young man I’ve met on this island who I would consider an acceptable choice for Anne and I know you would never put Anne in a position that would bring her shame. But I do think that she needs to be informed of her choices so she can act responsibly on her own behalf.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You two best be off to school. And if Rachel ever gives you trouble for kissing or holding hands, I suggest asking her about her two grandchildren who were only born six months after their parents’ weddings. That ought to shut her mouth up pretty tight.”

\---

Gilbert walked out the door mentally exhausted, taking note that today was likely going to be very warm, the humidity already heavy in the air.

“Well, that certainly isn’t how I thought my morning would go.”

“Can’t **you** just tell me?”

“No.”

“Please, Gilbert?”

“No.”

“Don’t you have a book or something I could borrow?”

“No.”

“You don’t have a book or you won’t let me borrow it?”

“The clarification is irrelevant; I’m not going to talk to you about this.”

“Why not? Do you not want me to know so you have an advantage?”

“You can’t possibly think that’s true, and I assumed you already knew based on what you told me about the Hammonds.”

Anne was shocked, “You mean to tell me those brutal encounters are what led to their children being conceived?”

“Yes.”

Anne stopped walking and her face had gone pale and she looked scared. “Gilbert, she would scream, throughout it all, and she would cry afterward, sometimes for hours. That can’t… that can’t… why would it be that way?”

He turned back to her, “It shouldn’t be. Mr. Hammond was a monster, who abused both you and his wife, the world is better off without him in it. That’s all I’m going to say about it. You will talk to Miss Stacy like Marilla suggested.”

“I thought you said you knew not to tell me what to do.”

“I do, but right now I am far more afraid of Marilla than I am of you. Anne, Marilla has been exceedingly generous with what she has allowed us to do. She wasn’t upset when you spent the night at my house- other mothers would have ended our relationship then and there and forbade us from speaking to each other ever again. She allows us to spend time alone even knowing that we are courting. She is keeping our confidence instead of spreading it around town so there are always eyes on us. She trusts us, and I for one am not going to do anything that could betray that trust. Talk to Miss Stacy, and leave me out of it, I’m begging you. I’m not willing to risk losing you over this. I just got you.”

“Losing me? What are you talking about? You can’t lose me. Gilbert, stop walking, what’s wrong?”

“Bash… had a hard morning today. That’s why I woke up early. We were talking about how he feels cheated, how it took him so long to find Mary and he got to spend so little time with her.”

“And you’re afraid that Marilla is going to what? Forbid you from seeing me?”

“She has every right to, we aren’t following courtship rules and that conversation we just had? That is not something she should have to discuss at breakfast with someone who is courting her daughter! She shouldn’t have to do that. I’m not her responsibility!”

Anne realized then that it wasn’t about the conversation they had that morning. He missed his dad, plain and simple. He was trying to become an adult without the guidance he desired, and feeling like a burden to those who have taken on the responsibility. She hugged him tightly and whispered, “So who should it fall to Gilbert? Sebastian? A man who is just a few years older than you, who is grieving a loss and raising a child in a village where he is barely accepted? Should he be the one who is responsible for you? He is your brother, not your father. You don’t need to force yourself to grow up alone! The Cuthberts are here to help you with whatever you need at any time, you need only ask, they are so happy to do so. I know you don’t like to impose, preferring to deal with everything on your own, but if it is family it is **not** an imposition! And that is what they are to you. They love you Gilbert, they always have and they would never see you as a burden. You should have heard her when I told her that I was in love with you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her more proud or excited. She thinks the world of you, and so does Matthew. Neither of them would ever forbid me from seeing you! If for no other reason than they know it wouldn’t be possible. You need to get over this fear of losing me. It’s not going to happen. I am far too stubborn. I promise I’ll be here as long as you accept that a life with me is apparently quite prone to injury.”

He laughed at that. Having finally been able to cheer him up, or at least calm him down, Anne released him from the hug and grabbed his hand. She attempted a distraction, “How have you never told me that you delivered a baby? Isn’t that something that should have come up by now? You should have told me that right when you got back!”

Gilbert chuckled at her request, “Like right when I returned? I desperately wanted to tell you, but how would that conversation have gone exactly? ‘Hi Anne, it’s really good to see you.’ You’ll remember that’s when our conversation ended, but I suppose I could have gone on with something like ‘Last we spoke we had just come to an agreement regarding a truce for our competitive behavior and you’ve barely ever spoken to me except to tell me off, but come, listen to a tale of how I delivered a prostitute’s baby in a barn with Sebastian. Who is Sebastian, you ask? Oh, just this black man I brought back with me from Trindad who I’m going to split ownership of the orchard with who will then buy me out so I can afford to chase this ridiculous dream I have of becoming a doctor. No, he has never farmed a day in his life and has spent the last ten years on a boat and no, he hasn’t seen snow before and has no idea what a Canadian winter is like, but he’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine. By the way, I’m in love with you so please don’t hate me anymore.’”

“That was a rather loaded comment, Gil.”

“Well, that is the truth of the situation. It was a crazy idea. It still is. But hopefully we can make it work.”

“The world is changed by crazy ideas Gilbert Blythe and your willingness to put a crazy idea into motion to achieve your dreams is nothing short of remarkable. You will be an amazing doctor, it’s what you were made to do so don’t go thinking for a minute that it is ridiculous. And with exporting your apples to Europe? The orchard is going to see a profit unlike any in recent history. And there are scholarships you can earn, I’m sure of it. Everything is going to work out, you’ll see.”

“Miss Anne Shirley Cuthbert, you,” he kissed the back of the hand he was holding, “are without doubt the best part of my life.”

She smiled up at him and they walked on in silence while each reflecting on the morning. The conversations with Marilla and Sebastian weighed on him though, and Gilbert was unable to get out of the despondent mood left as a result. “Ugh, I wish I could start this day over, I am not feeling especially great right now.” 

“I bet I can help! Come here!”

“Anne, where are we going?”

“Just around here… there’s this giant tree I want you to see,” she said pulling him behind her as she moved quickly into the thicker part of the woods.

“I know that trees make you happy, but I hardly have the same connection to nature that you do.”

She continued energetically, “The magical thing about this tree, Gilbert, is that it is so big that even though we are not far from the path,” she stopped abruptly and turned around at the base of the large oak as Gilbert practically knocked her over, “no one can see us here.”

She looked up at him, smiling and biting her lip and he didn’t need another hint.

A few minutes later they heard Diana’s voice cutting through the silence, “I may not be able to see you, but you know I can hear you, right? And the noises you are making aren’t exactly ambiguous.”

“You would know!” Anne shouted from behind the tree.

“Yes I would!” Diana yelled back.

They both emerged smiling and laughing, their moods improved dramatically.

“Sorry about that- we had a rough morning with Marilla.”

“And Sebastian,” Gilbert added.

“And we needed to start fresh.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, but if you don’t straighten up you will have a lot to answer for when we get to school. Anne, re-braid your hair, you look like a frightened cat. Gilbert, smooth the front of your shirt and I don’t know- what can you do to your hair to make it go… back down? It’s all poofy and strange. As for the flush in your cheeks, blame it on the heat I guess.” She circled them to make sure she wasn’t missing anything. “Anne you have pieces of bark on the back of your dress.” She turned toward Gilbert, “Really Gilbert? You think that’s appropriate for this time of the day? And on the way to school?”

“It was her idea. Seemed like the right thing to do.”

“And what is this?” she asked pulling something fuzzy off of Anne’s backside, “Moss. Great. Luckily you wore your green dress or that would have left a noticeable mark. She continued her appraisal. Alright, I think that will do.”

“Diana, you seem awfully familiar with this process.” Gilbert teased.

“Hold your tongue Gilbert, or do you need Anne’s help with that?” she threw back at him. “You better be thankful for both my experience and discretion or you two would get yourselves in loads of trouble,” she smiled demurely, “we best be off now.”

\---

The morning passed slowly, the heat of the day building up in the classroom while Anne considered her phrasing regarding asking Miss Stacy for information regarding reproduction and Gilbert wondered how to tactfully request her help with Sebastian.

“We’ll have lunch a little early today; I know the heat is getting to many of you. Let’s do a short lunch and then we’ll head home a bit early as well.” She looked down at the papers on her desk and when she looked up again, all the students had left except Anne and Gilbert, who were standing before her.

“How can I help you two?”

“We each have a favor to ask of you, if it isn’t too much trouble?” Gilbert asked.

“I will certainly try to help, what do you need?”

“Well, I was wondering, and pardon me for bringing it up, but Sebastian is having a really hard time with the loss of Mary. And I was thinking, or hoping rather, that you might be willing to talk to him. Maybe just keep him company as someone who has experienced this type of loss before? Obviously, I don’t want you to come if is going to cause you distress and I don’t know anything about your husb-”

“Gilbert,” she interrupted him and smiled, “I’d be happy to come speak with Sebastian. I’m grieving Mary’s loss too; it would be nice to spend some time with him, especially if he thinks it might help. Should I come by after school today?”

“Yes, that would be perfect, thank you Miss Stacy.”

“And Anne, you have a question as well?”

“I’ll just wait for you outside,” Gilbert tried to leave.

“No you won’t Marilla said you’re my proof that she approves of this conversation, you aren’t going anywhere.”

Miss Stacy grew concerned, “What is it Anne?”

“Marilla was wondering if you would be able to teach me about human reproduction.”

“Excuse me?”

“We have agreed that it is imperative for young women to understand human reproduction if they are to avoid being taken advantage of. Marilla said you have her permission to tell me, isn’t that right Gilbert?”

“Yes, that’s what she said,” he couldn’t remember ever feeling this uncomfortable. Somehow this was worse than talking it over with Marilla this morning. “Can I go now?”

“No, you may not. Miss Stacy, please?”

“This is highly unusual Anne.”

“As am I. Regardless, I have Marilla’s permission for you to tell me if you are willing to do so. Gilbert could tell me as well, but he refuses after our conversation with Marilla this morning.”

“Indeed, that would be incredibly inappropriate. Come with me Anne, Gilbert you may be excused.”

“Right now, Miss Stacy?” Anne sounded worried as Gilbert practically ran out of the room.

“I don’t see why not. The process is fairly straightforward and you are intelligent. This shouldn’t take long at all.”

\---

Gilbert tried to sit casually and eat with Moody, Ruby and Diana while they waited for Anne, but he found that he was nervous regarding the conversation he knew was occurring inside. He wasn’t sure what he expected Anne’s reaction to be, probably somewhere between horror and disgust so he was pleasantly surprised when she emerged from the classroom with only a slight look of confusion. She walked in a daze to their usual spot near the brook and it wasn’t until she arrived there that she noticed Gilbert wasn’t alone.

“Oh! Goodness! What’s going on?”

“We just want to assure you Anne, and well, the both of you actually, that your secret is safe with us,” Moody said.

“Oh Anne, I am so sorry that news of our knowledge of your relationship caused you such distress. You are the strongest person I know and to think that I almost broke you, I just can’t even imagine!”

“Oh Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, it’s not your fault I had a panic attack!” she said as she sat down between Ruby and Diana. After hearing that you and Moody knew about us, my imagination just jumped right to Billy telling Gilbert that he can do better than some orphan dog and Josie wondering what spell I used to lure him away from you!”

“Will you tell us how it happened?” Ruby asked excitedly.

“What?”

“How did you… you know, get together?” Moody added.

“Um well, we walked home together last Friday after the dance rehearsal and got to talking and realized we had feelings for each other.”

“Anne!” Diana said disappointedly.

“What Diana?”

“That was the lamest summary of what actually happened! And I don’t even know the whole thing!”

Gilbert was laughing, “I have never heard you tell such an unembellished story.”

“Well I don’t have time to tell the whole thing right now and I don’t want to share some parts of it. It’s personal.”

“You at least need to explain how after three years Gilbert finally convinced you to give him a chance!” Moody said excitedly.

“He didn’t need to convince me! We just talked!”

“Could we just get a little embellishment? Please Anne?” Ruby begged.

“Well, alright if I must.”

“You must!” Ruby said enthusiastically.

They were seated in a circle, with Moody to the left of Ruby and Gilbert between him and Diana, across from Anne.

Anne began her dramatic retelling. “Well, our eyes kept catching across the room while we were dancing, drawn together like magnets, each of us feeling something that hadn’t been there before. When the dance was over, we were lost in each other’s gaze-”

“Correction: Anne was feeling something she hadn’t before; I felt the same thing I had been trying to hide for three years. We did indeed get lost in each other’s gaze though, that bit is true.”

“Having become overwhelmed with feelings I made haste to get outside for some fresh air.”

“Or… Anne ran away, because she was too afraid of what she was feeling. I was going to go after her, but I was upset and figured that in her current state, I would get yelled at.”

She spoke like it was a surprise turn in a fairy tale. “Instead it was Charlie who appeared out of nowhere-”

“And suffered her wrath,” he added with a smile.

“Hardly, he offered to walk me home and I declined saying that I simply didn’t regard him as anything more than a friend. Then I went back to ask Gilbert, **civilly** , what was going on between us.”

The three classmates looked expectedly at Gilbert for his iteration of the story.

“Or, rather, she yelled at Charlie regarding his interest in her and for his insinuation of our alleged relationship and then realized she was annoyed that she didn’t understand what she was feeling. This, of course, was my fault, so she chased me down to yell at me.”

“When I caught up with Gilbert, I was surprised to find that he was upset, despite how happy he seemed in class.”

“I was upset because I was in love with a girl who was dead set on hating me even though I was fairly certain she shared my feelings.”

“Anyway, I was intending to ask him just what exactly was going on between us, truly out of my depth and well, I’m sure my tone left something to be desired.”

“But before she could give me the lecture she thought I deserved, I came to the conclusion that I should just speak my mind because I had been so careful around her all this time and it had gotten me nowhere. So just as she was preparing herself to yell at me, I yelled at her instead and I think I actually caught her by surprise.”

“Despite his frustration at me assuming we were friends and him feeling like I didn’t treat him very well, which was correct, Gilbert generously offered conversation over dinner so we could talk about all of our misunderstandings over the years and get to a place where we could better understand each other and maybe actually even become friends.”

“Or I reluctantly asked her over for dinner, realizing that I had nothing to lose by telling her how I feel. Though honestly, I was not at all prepared to settle for just being her friend. If she hit me again, at least I would have an answer straight from her lips instead of assuming what she was feeling, which in my defense she didn’t understand either, so who could blame me? So we spent hours actually talking to each other about what was on our minds and getting to know each other. We cleared up a bit of misunderstood history and well, I won.”

“Are you kidding me? It wasn’t a contest, Gilbert!”

“Not a close one anyway,” he smirked.

“So that’s it? You just talked to each other?” Moody asked quietly.

“Mostly, yeah, there was a lot that needed to be said,” Gilbert responded.

“Did you kiss?” Ruby squeaked.

“Yes Ruby, we kissed that night. Twice.”

Ruby squealed and clapped.

“Oh Anne you are so lucky to have found love. I assume you love each other, right?” Anne nodded. “I can only hope I find that someday soon,” she finished dreamily.

“Moody, can I have a word with you?”

They walked out of earshot of the girls. Gilbert gently hit Moody’s arm with the back of his hand, “You haven’t talked to her yet?” he whispered, “Did you get her flowers like I suggested?”

“No.”

“I told her to ask you to go with her to pick out flowers for Miss Stacy and she was so excited- did she talk to you about that?”

“No.”

“Enough. Take it from me- someone who spent three years afraid of my feelings and afraid of Anne, just talk to her.”

“Well, she did hit you, so maybe a little concern regarding her behavior was reasonable.”

“And Ruby’s never even yelled at you, so I say you’re in a pretty good position here. I’m not going to sit idly by as you two awkwardly avoid each other waiting for the other to make the first move. You think you have all the time in the world, but you’re wrong. Our time here is limited and waiting is not worth the risk. Stay here.”

“Wait, Gilbert, what are you doing?”

“Ruby? Can I have a word please?”

“Um, sure?” she said timidly as Gilbert led her back toward Moody, waiting by the school.

“Ruby- Moody has feelings for you. He has posted on the board for you multiple times proclaiming your beauty and he will not stop talking about you in class. Moody- Ruby has feelings for you, she looks at you like you are a dream come true and you would have to be blind not to notice it. You both know that it took three years for Anne and me to figure out our relationship. And this morning, Bash was in tears just wishing for another minute with Mary.” Gilbert took both their hands and brought them together. “There. Just talk to each other. Please? I’m sick of people wasting time. It’s too precious a resource.”

Gilbert returned to Diana and Anne and sat down with a look of triumph on his face.

“What just happened?” Anne asked.

“I was sick of them mooning over each other without ever doing anything, even despite the fact that they knew how the other felt.”

“Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle just a bit black?” Diana asked.

“Exactly, why shouldn’t they benefit from my knowledge?”

“Wasn’t that a bit risky though? What if they just weren’t quite ready yet?”

Gilbert looked back at Moody and Ruby who were no longer holding hands, but were talking and laughing together, truly enjoying the company.

“I regret nothing.”

“You really are rather arrogant now that you have Anne, you know that, right?” Diana asked.

“So I’ve been told. I have Anne, I can make a biscuit that Marilla has deemed ‘excellent’ and it looks like,” he glanced over to Ruby and Moody just in time to see him kiss her hand, “Yep, I got Ruby and Moody together. I’m fairly certain that I can do anything now. I’m available for consultations, if you need anything,” he said cheekily, leaning back on his arms.

“You are unbelievable, Gilbert Blythe.”

“I agree,” Anne added, “but probably in a different way.”

“Check that attitude, Blythe,” Diana said with a hint of mischief in her eyes, “In my opinion, until you two can clean yourselves up after your trysts in the woods; you don’t have a leg to stand on.”


	6. Friday Afternoon and Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne freaks out a little bit, honey is harvested, Miss Stacy makes a friend, Anne makes a mess, Miss Stacy sees way more than she wants to, Sebastian is a good brother and Gilbert cleverly speaks his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep having trouble uploading this so I'm really hoping it works this time. Finally we have come to Friday afternoon and evening. Guys, this chapter is so long I swear it feels like it's happening in real time. I hope it doesn't feel as long to you as it does to me, but I doubt any of you will read it as many times as I have had to. For all of you who love the long detailed chapters, here you go. It just kind of got away from me but 11k words later, I think I like where it ended up at, so here you go.

Miss Stacy looked around the room. Her students were supposed to be reading. The younger children were putting up a valiant effort, but her older ones were way past even pretending to try. Charlie’s head was visibly bobbing as he nodded off to sleep, Moody kept looking over and smiling at Ruby, who was lost in a daze and blatantly staring at him, Diana was attempting to read but her ever perfect posture was failing, Josie was staring out the window while Jane stuck strips of paper into her curls, Tillie was creating a pro/con list regarding the Pauls who were flicking a balled up piece of paper back and forth between them, Gilbert’s leg was bouncing so vigorously she was surprised the book he was reading was stable enough to be read and Anne looked like she was participating on both sides of a strenuous mental fight, her eyes darting from side to side completing the look of consternation initiated by her furrowed brows and pursed lips. It was only two o’clock, but she could tell that as far as education went, the day was over.

 _This is pointless._ “That’s enough. Class, as promised, you are free to go early today. I know our study group usually meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but none of you are focusing well so we’ll just add Tuesday next week if that is alright. You are dismissed. Anne, may I speak with you?”

As the class slowly left the room, Anne rose and walked to Miss Stacy. _I can’t possibly be in trouble for not focusing. It wasn’t just me!_ “Yes, Miss Stacy?”

“Anne, I’m sorry to intrude, but you looked troubled, are you alright?”

 _Oh. Yes, I’m sure I do._ “It’s just,” she began whispering, “regarding our discussion earlier? I’m just surprised, I guess, that it is so… animalistic? It seems quite… I don’t even know how to say what I’m trying to say. Almost impersonal for how exceedingly personal it is.”

“Well, first you need to remember that humans **are** animals.”

“But from all the stories I’ve read, I figured there would be more… romance maybe? I’m not sure.”

 _This is what I get for caring about my students. I could have just let her go home. No one made me call her up here. But here we are in yet another uncomfortable conversation._ “Anne, I provided you with a very cliunical description of the process by which a child is conceived. My only intention was that you know enough to keep you safe and responsible. Let me ask you something though. In all the stories you’ve read that mention kissing, did any of them adequately describe what it felt like when you were kissed for the first time?”

“You mean, when **I** kissed someone for the first time? No, they all fell woefully short, shockingly so.”

“That is because you kissed someone you love, and who loves you, and that the connection you share makes that feeling nearly indescribable. When the time comes, and I cannot emphasize this enough, **in the very distant future** , if you are with someone you love, and who loves you, it won’t be animalistic and impersonal. Does that help ease your mind a bit?”

“I think so,” she thought about it a bit before shaking her head clear, “Thank you, again, for sharing this with me. I know it is not an easy topic to discuss, but I truly appreciate your willingness to do so.”

“No problem at all Anne, I meant what I said. I’m here if you ever need to talk. Shall we?” she motioned toward the door where Gilbert was waiting.

“Anne, it’s plenty warm today if you’re still interested in harvesting some honey.”

“Really? That’s great! I’ll just need to stop by Green Gables to ask Marilla if it’s okay.”

“Yeah, of course, Miss Stacy, are you coming over straight away or are you stopping at home first?”

“I don’t need to stop at home so I will walk with you two if that’s alright.”

After walking for a bit in silence, Miss Stacy said, “I know you two want to hold hands. You don’t need my permission to do so.”

“We usually try to wait until we are a little farther away from the school so we’re less likely to be seen,” Gilbert explained.

“So I assume until you get past Mrs.-”

“The Lynde’s place, yeah. But they know now, so I guess that’s pointless,” Anne said as she grabbed Gilbert’s hand.

“Tell me Gilbert, have you thought any more about attending the University of Toronto? I’ve sent word to Emily and I just heard back yesterday. She said she thinks you’d be an excellent addition to their medical research program, pending the results of your exams of course, though I assured her those wouldn’t be a problem.”

He felt Anne’s hand tighten around his. “Really? That would be fantastic, if I can afford it. Did you ask her how much tuition and lodging would be there?” He squeezed her hand back, trying to comfort her.

“She didn’t provide me with a number, but did mention a possibility of a work-study option to make it more affordable if that is a concern.”

“It is definitely a concern. I’ll need to think about it, but I don’t know of another feasible option for studying medicine.”

“You mean besides the Sorbonne?” she joked.

He laughed, his head falling back slightly. “The keyword here is feasible. My dad tried to teach me French once. It didn’t take. I think that medical school will be difficult enough without adding that language barrier.”

“True enough. Living in Toronto it’ll be easier to visit your family as well. Not that it’s a short trip, and it will probably be quite expensive, but at least it will be a possibility. That wouldn’t be true if you were to study in France.”

“I will let you know soon. Thank you, Miss Stacy.”

Miss Stacy and Gilbert continued talking about the University and the upcoming exams. Anne was eerily quiet the entire walk home and it did not go unnoticed by her companions. When they arrived at Green Gables she announced nervously, “I’m going to go talk to Marilla; I’ll just meet you at your house in a bit, okay?”

 _Don’t run away, Anne._ “Don’t be absurd, we’ll wait for you. It’ll only take a minute,” Gilbert said reassuringly.

“Please, just go?” her voice was high and her panic was becoming more apparent, “I’ll be over in a while, I promise,” she said as she started walking away.

 _Damn_. “Okay? Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll just be a few minutes,” she yelled back.

“Well, that’s not good,” Gilbert sighed as they started toward his house.

“Have you not talked about next year?”

“No, we have not.”

“I apologize for having brought it up, but you do need to make a decision soon, especially if you want to be considered for work-study.”

“No, I know. It’s not your fault. We need to talk about it, and of course you’re right, I know I need to make a decision. We’ve just been having so much fun together that I didn’t want to bring up the reality that we won’t be anywhere near each other come fall. We wasted so much time… agh… I need to go back. Sebastian is expecting you; can you please him we’ll be over in a few minutes if you don’t mind? I’m sorry, Miss Stacy.”

“It’s absolutely no trouble at all.”

Gilbert ran back to Green Gables, up the steps and knocked aggressively.

Marilla opened the door. “She’s upstairs.”

“Thank you Ms. Cuthbert.” He ran up the stairs and to her bedroom where she was leaning over her table in front of her mirror taking deep breaths. He paused at the threshold and leaned against the frame.

“Anne, I’m sorry.”

“For what? For wanting to be a doctor? For Queens not having a medical program? For me wanting to be a teacher and stay close to Avonlea? None of this is your fault. It’s just…”

“It’s hard.”

“Yes. Gilbert, I haven’t allowed myself to think about our upcoming separation simply because I don’t want to deal with it. I just want to pretend that it’s not going to happen,” she confessed.

“Anne, this doesn’t change anything between us. Is it going to be difficult to be apart from each other next year? Yes.”

“It’s not just next year Gilbert! It is **six** years! Medical school is **six** years long!” she said, her anxiety growing with every word.

“Yes it is, but you’ll have your teaching certificate in two years and we can reevaluate our situation then.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that we don’t need to have all the answers now. I’m saying that maybe you could consider teaching in Toronto while I finish school. I’m saying that we’ll figure it out. Maybe I’ll hate medical school and transfer to Queens.”

“You won’t. You’re meant to be a doctor.”

“Maybe you’ll decide you want to get a four year degree and transfer to the University.”

“I won’t. I want to be a teacher, I really do. I don’t need a four year degree for that and I don’t want to burden Marilla and Matthew with the additional expense.”

“I know you could win a scholarship Anne, if you wanted a four year degree, you would be able to do it. If you truly want to be a teacher, that’s great. But if you want to be a teacher because you can do it quickly and less expensively, maybe reconsider. Don’t let money, or lack thereof, make your decisions.”

“That’s not it. I **want** to teach. I want to write too and I will, but I feel a calling to teach.”

“Look, we both like to plan for what’s coming, but I think we need to try relinquishing some of our need to control the future, **our** future. We can attempt to make plans all we want, but what is the point? Look at where we are from a week ago. It’s been one week, Anne. Or go back a couple months. Go back to your birthday; is there any part of you then that could’ve predicted that this is where you would be? Where **we** would be? How are we to know what we will be dealing with in a year or two? Or six? If we try to have it all figured out we’re just fooling ourselves. But,” he paused, taking a breath, “We can use what we know to provide you some comfort. What do we know here?”

She just shook her head, still leaning over and staring down at the table.

He walked over to her and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, standing her up straight. He looked at her eyes in the mirror. “We know with absolute certainty that I love you,” he kissed her on the cheek, “And I’m pretty sure that you **finally** love me,” he raised an eyebrow and smirked at her. “We know that we are both obnoxiously stubborn and will stop at nothing to achieve our goals.” She giggled softly. “And we know that we have the full and unwavering support of each other and our families. We have everything we need and we can figure everything else out as we go. And we will, I promise. Now,” he said spinning her around to face him while he took her hands in his, gazing into her eyes, “the time has come and I have an important question to ask you. I need you to answer earnestly and please, listen to your heart as you consider your response because I have been waiting days to ask you this,” he kissed her hands and looked at her hopefully, “Would you… like to put on a net and collect some regurgitated nectar and pollen with me?”

She burst out laughing, “You really do have a way with words, don’t you?”

“Did I get you?” he laughed as she threw his hands down and off of hers. She reached her arms around his neck and his hands moved to her hips.

“You’re trouble, Gilbert Blythe,” she said as she rose up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss. “Come on, let’s go.”

“No, I changed my mind let’s stay here,” he said playfully, resisting as she pulled his hand toward to door.

“Nothing but trouble,” she said, putting her weight into it and pulling him behind her.

\---

Miss Stacy walked up to the door hesitantly and knocked three times. Though she had personally grieved her beloved husband, she had no idea how to help someone else grieve the loss of their greatest love. _How do I even begin?_

“Miss Stacy! Welcome. Won’t you please come in?”

“Good afternoon Sebastian and please, call me Muriel,” she said reticently, surprised by the jovial man greeting her. "Gilbert and Anne will be along shortly, they just had to stop at Green Gables quick."

“Well then, Muriel, may I offer you some water or tea?”

“Water sounds wonderful thank you. This heat really came on suddenly this spring.”

“Oh, this isn’t heat! You people way up here don’t know heat. Gilbert complained of the heat in Trinidad; I didn’t have the heart to point out that it was winter there too.” He handed her a glass of water as she sat down at the table. “You let school out early today? I hope that wasn’t because of my request, I don’t want to be a bother,” he said as he sat down across from her.

“You are no bother to me, certainly. I let school out today because the older students weren’t doing particularly well with the heat. Many of them are already displaying the lack of motivation typical of students as they near the end of their education. It can’t really be helped, but I wish they would make a better effort until they get through their examinations.”

Sebastian looked concerned, “Is Gilbert doing okay? I know he needs good scores to get into school. I hear he is intelligent, mostly from himself and Anne, but honestly, I have no idea.”

“That’s kind of you to be concerned, but I can assure you that even at his most distracted he is easier to teach and smarter than almost all his classmates.”

“Almost?” he asked with a smirk.

“Almost,” she responded with a smile.

Hesitant to proceed, unsure of what she knew, he asked, “I was worried that considering recent… developments his attentiveness might’ve fallen off, or been… redirected.”

“To the contrary he and Anne are pushing each other harder now than ever. I’ve been quite impressed with both of them, for the most part anyway. Gilbert will be just fine. I expect his exam scores will be excellent and he will have his choice of colleges. He just needs to make a decision.”

He was surprised. “So you know about their relationship then? They told me they wanted to keep it quiet.”

“They had a couple arguments early in the week that ended up requiring a confession from them to explain their behavior.”

 _That makes sense._ Sebastian laughed, “Did it get a little intense?”

Muriel loosened up, becoming more comfortable with Sebastian. It was nice talking with someone her age. And it was nice talking about Anne and Gilbert. Sure, some might consider it gossiping, but there was no ill-intent here, only a shared fondness for the couple they had watched come together over the years from very different perspectives. “Sebastian, oh my goodness, on Monday we had a spelling bee. And to give them an actual challenge, I had them provide words for each other and they had to use them in a sentence to prove they knew what they meant.”

“Big mistake?”

“Huge mistake! I didn’t even know half the words they were using, so on top of losing control of them, I was embarrassed that I didn’t even know what they were talking about. I went home and looked them up because I couldn’t keep up with them at the time and I couldn’t believe it. Gilbert actually announced to the class that he gets goosebumps from arguing with Anne, but no one knew what horripilation meant, except for Anne and boy, was she in a state. I was simply shocked by his brazen attitude and his conceit in his assumption that he could get away with saying such a thing in front of so many people.”

“But he did,” Sebastian was chuckling.

“He most certainly did! And Anne was just as bold, claiming their arguing left her breathless!”

“Well, that sounds like them, if I’m being honest. They know what to say to push each other, sometimes right to the edge.”

“Right to the edge indeed! On Tuesday I thought they were going to start hitting each other, right there in the classroom. Keep in mind this was before they told me about their relationship. Gilbert won his argument on a technicality and then called her Carrots in front of everyone, which I’m sure you know the history there. I had to call them to the back room where they finally explained what was going on and then I was even more shocked because I realized that they weren’t going to hit each other, but they were only moments away from actually kissing right there in class! Can you believe it?”

“Yes, yes I can. Did you hear what I happened upon on Wednesday?”

“Do you mean what you snuck in on, causing Gilbert’s facial injury? Yes. I heard,” she said through her laughter, “I have never seen Anne so embarrassed as when she was telling me the story the next day. And that is saying something.”

“She’s having quite the week,” he laughed, “She threw him in the river last night.”

“ **What**?!”

“Yep, she thought she heard someone walking in the woods. He was dozing with his head in her lap and she just rolled him right off and into the river.”

“Oh, Anne,” she said, laughing raucously.

“Poor girl was so flustered at the sight of him sopping wet that she couldn’t look at him! Practically ran home without her shoes. That fool boy showed up here, soaked through and had no idea what had happened.”

When Anne and Gilbert returned, they walked in on Miss Stacy and Sebastian keeled over in laughter, their eyes watering.

“What’s going on?” asked Anne innocently.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. “This was a big mistake, that’s what is going on. Bash, she’s been here for ten minutes and you’re already making fun of me?”

“My apologies to both of you, I was just filling in Sebastian on what’s happened in class this week. I realize it’s perilously close to gossip, but it’s honestly just been so much fun to watch you two together. Sebastian voiced concern that you might be distracted considering the recent development of your relationship, but I assured him that you two are doing well.”

“Okay then,” he said uncomfortably, “We’re going to go get some honey, we’ll be back in a bit,” he said as he set down his satchel and walked toward the door.

“You best come back in a decent amount of time, boy. With **jars** of honey! Do you hear me? Jars! We can’t have Muriel thinking I’m anything less than a responsible chaperone.”

“Anne and I are just friends and neighbors going to get some honey,” he winked at them, opening the door for Anne, “No chaperoning required.”

“I talked with Marilla this afternoon when I was dropping off Dellie. She’s concerned you two are taking too many ‘neighborly’ risks.”

At that he kind of lost it and slammed the door shut. _What happened to the privacy of one’s own home?_ “Excuse me! But kissing the woman I intend on marrying in my kitchen shouldn’t be considered risky! It’s **my** kitchen! How was I to know that Moody and Ruby would choose that particular day and moment to come over? Neither of them has been over here in years and if they had come a minute earlier or five minutes later, they would have missed the whole damn thing!”

“Frustrated?” Sebastian asked calmly with his eyebrows raised, not especially surprised at the outburst.

Gilbert calmed quickly. Realizing his overreaction, he took a deep breath. “Just a bit. I’m sorry, but if you would’ve had the conversation we had with Marilla this morning, you might be a bit on edge as well. And you don’t need to worry. We really are just getting honey. We ran out on Wednesday night, remember?” he asked opening the door once more for Anne.

“The night Anne almost bit your lip off?” he teased. “Yes I remember.”

“Ugh, shut your mouth,” he yelled as he followed Anne out of the house.

\---

“We keep our protective gear in the barn,” Gilbert said as he led her into the dark building. “You can use this smaller equipment that I used to wear, it’s clean and it should fit you just fine. I usually don’t wear gloves, but I suggest you do until you’re more comfortable with the whole process.”

“Thank you. Is it just a shirt, hat, net and gloves then? Nothing additional on bottom?” she asked a little nervously. “No bee blanket or anything?”

“Is the invincible Anne Shirley-Cuthbert nervous?”

She scoffed, “You wish.”

“I don’t wish, not even a little bit. I want you to feel comfortable and safe. We haven’t used the pants in years; I’m not even sure where they are. Would you be more comfortable adding the pants under your skirt? I can try to find them if you’d like.”

“No, if you don’t usually use them, that’s fine.” She smiled brightly through the netting and said, “Let’s do this.” She clapped her gloved hands together and confidently marched out of the barn.

Amused and charmed by her spunkiness, Gilbert laughed, shook his head, and followed. He jogged to catch up to her and took her gloved hand in his.

“Neighbors don’t hold hands, Blythe!” he heard Sebastian yell from the porch.

In response, he wrapped his arms around her and spun her in a circle as she laughed.

\---

Miss Stacy and Sebastian had moved to the porch to enjoy the breeze.

“That boy is pushing his luck.”

“I think it’s wonderful to see them so happy. Neither of them have had especially easy lives.”

“That’s true.”

“Gilbert seems different now that he’s with Anne. Or maybe it’s that I usually only see him at school,” Muriel wondered aloud to Sebastian.

“He has some new-found confidence, which is expected after attaining what you’ve been longing after for three years. He’s always spent a lot of time in his head, too much probably. Anne has been good for him though, bringing him out into the world a bit and encouraging him to be himself instead of what others expect of him. I’m not saying Anne herself is a challenge, but she’s unique and she definitely challenges him. I think you’re right, he’s changed a bit. He’s always been a good boy, but I’ve seen many sides of Gilbert Blythe over the years and I think he’s at his best when he’s with her.”

“Is it hard, watching them together so soon after losing Mary?”

“Yes and no. I’m sure you understand. I’m so happy for them, that they finally figured it out after all this time. And trust me when I tell you it’s easier living with Gilbert now than before with all the pining and moping. But I would be missing Mary the same, regardless of what that fool is up to. I sure wish she were here to see them together though. It would have made her so happy.”

“I can’t imagine Gilbert being difficult to live with, overall he seems very respectful and mild mannered.”

“Overall, he is, especially for his age, but at the end of the day, he’s an eighteen year old man-child.” She laughed at that. “It would have been one thing if I just had to hear about his frustration regarding Anne, but I had to actually watch the awkward moments and let me tell you, it was painful. Anne’s a big part of this family; she helped us through Mary’s pregnancy, Delphine’s birth and everything since then and there were countless times I looked at Anne and Gilbert and they were just staring at each other, like they were waiting for something to happen. More than once I considered locking them in a closet so they would be forced to come to terms with what was happening between them, but I’ve learned you can’t rush these things.”

“Not with Anne. I think Gilbert learned that on that first day.”

“Yes he did. Unfortunately it was a costly mistake and made him far too scared of her and her far too skeptical of him, leading to three years of fighting and confusion.”

“They did figure it out though, eventually.”

“Thank goodness for that. I was at the end of my rope with those two.”

\---

“So tell me Gil, why does it need to be the hottest time of the day to harvest honey?”

“Well, technically it doesn’t **need** to be, but the heat draws the bees out to collect pollen and nectar. The fewer bees there are in the hive, the less likely we are to get stung.”

“Do you get stung often? Is that a big concern?”

“No, I don’t get stung often, but yes it is always a concern. I think they are used to me by now. I’m deliberate about moving slowly and not harming them so they don’t see me as a great danger. Contrary to popular belief, honey bees don’t actually want to sting you. They will do so only if they perceive you as a threat. Stinging is a suicidal act. They can’t remove their stinger from flesh, so when they fly away, it tears part of their abdomen off, which causes the bee to die. Wasps though? They have the ability to sting multiple times without making the same sacrifice, which is why they are the more aggressive stingers.”

“Why do you keep bees? Just for the honey?”

“No, not for the honey at all, the bees pollenate the trees, the honey is just a delicious bonus. We keep bees so we can have a better chance at a successful apple crop.”

“You sound like a scientist.”

“Nature **is** science.”

“Nature is beauty, wonder and mystery.”

“Can’t it be all those things?”

“I suppose, but sometimes I feel that understanding the science behind something takes away the miraculous aspects of it all.”

“You could not be more wrong.”

She laughed at his quick and definitive reply, “Excuse me?”

“Would you say that your understanding of the mechanics of prose and the English language negates the power of your words or enhances them?” Silence. “That’s what I thought. It’s my opinion that great depth or understanding of something, or some **one** ,” he added, squeezing her hand, “more often than not, does nothing to hinder its beauty and wonder and everything to enhance it.”

She thought about it for a bit before whispering, “Damn it.”

“Ha, I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Unfortunately, I have to concede the point," she said reluctantly. 

“Alright,” he said as they arrived at the hives. “Pick a hive, except for that one. I disturbed that one last week and I’d like to give them a break.”

“Ummm, that one I suppose.”

“Okay, say hello to the ladies,” he said as he prepared the smoker.

“What?”

“Introduce yourself, you’re invading their home.”

“You talk to them?”

He looked at her like she was crazy, his brows furrowed. “Of course I do, I’m invading their home! Disturbing all their hard work! You talk to trees, how do you find issue with talking to bees?”

“I don’t! I’m just surprised! I didn’t think you would be the type of person to talk to nature.”

“You wound me, Cuthbert,” he joked, “Do you think I’m heartless?”

She laughed at his display of offense. “Can you start?”

“Good afternoon ladies, I’ve brought my friend Anne with me today and she is going to help me.”

“Hello beautiful bees! Thank you ever so much for sharing your honey with us. I’m new at this, and I’m going to try and be very careful, but please have patience with me while I figure this out.”

“Good job. First, I’m going to blow some smoke into the hive. It calms the bees down, causes them to move more slowly.”

She watched him work, impressed at his diligence and comfort with the process. _It doesn’t even look like he’s thinking about it, it’s just… second nature._

“Then,” he said, startling her out of her trance, “We need to take the cover off; just lift it up and lean it against the hive. You don’t want to trap any bees by putting it flat on the ground,” he explained retrieving a jar, spatula and brush from the crate he kept near the hives.

She gently lifted the cover and leaned it against the hive. “All set.”

“Thank you,” he said handing her the jar and the spatula, “Now I’m going to lift this up, gently brush the bees out of the way and you…” he paused until he completed the brushing, “are going to take the spatula and gently scrape it against the honey comb and put it in the jar. I know it’s a little tricky with the big gloves but just take your time, the slower the better actually.”

“How many jars full do we need?”

“Let’s fill up one for your family and one for mine.”

“Can I fill one for the Mi’kmaq? They seemed to really appreciate the gift. And Miss Stacy? She’s certainly been an asset to us this week.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Like I said, we have plenty.”

They worked in silence until the job was complete, concentrating fully on their tasks. When the last jar was filled, Anne carefully placed the cover back on the hive.

“Now, because I am an idiot, I forgot that I ran out of lids out here so we’ll need to wait until we get back to the house to cover them. Sorry about that.” They picked up the jars and took about twenty steps when Gilbert put his jars down and started circling Anne, pulling at her protective gear.

“What are you doing now?” she asked, utterly confused.

“Making sure you don’t have any bees trapped in there.”

“What about you?”

“Can you check me?” she set down her jars and the spatula and walked around him pulling at the netting to stretch it out, not finding any stowaways. “You’ll need to check under your skirt,” he said bluntly.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, you will need to check under your skirt for bees. **I** certainly can’t do it.”

“Well I certainly can’t do it here out in the open!”

“No one is here Anne, and I will turn my back. Really it’s for the best to do it out here. You don’t want to get a bee all agitated under there during the walk back.”

“Sure, no one’s out here, just like no one was there to see us kiss in that field last weekend? I’m sorry; I’m not going to risk it.”

“So instead you’ll risk getting stung? Have you ever been stung?”

“No… does it hurt?”

“Yes! That’s why they call it a sting! Anne, it’s an animal sticking a barbed needle into your flesh and depositing venom. What would you expect? Not everyone reacts the same, but typically the results are pain, swelling and burning.”

“I’ll take the chance.”

“Fine, suit yourself.” He knew when to give up. “When we get back to the barn you will have the privacy you desire. Just walk calmly if you can.”

“I think I can manage,” she said haughtily. “That was very simple. Getting the honey, I mean. I thought there would be more to it.”

“Afraid not, sorry to disappoint.”

“I’m not disappointed; just observing.”

They walked calmly and quietly back toward the homestead and were within view of the barn when Anne felt something on her leg. “Oh, no,” she said before she started sprinting to the barn, “No, no, no, no, no-” she continued saying it as she ran away from him.

“Anne! Stop running!” he shouted after her.

She did not stop running. She ran as fast as she could toward the barn, forgetting she was holding honey as it oozed onto her gloves and dripped down onto her skirt. She eventually gave up and dropped the jars halfway there before tearing off her gloves, netting, hat and protective shirt. As she disappeared into the barn Gilbert heard her yell in pain. He had followed her as fast as he could but stopped outside the door to the barn.

“Anne!? Anne!? Are you okay?” he yelled as he put down the jars.

“No I’m not okay! I got stung!” she was sobbing, “I… I… I killed a bee! Oh my goodness I can’t believe I killed one of the ladies!”

“Anne, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. Are you decent?”

“That depends entirely on you definition of decent.”

 _This is not the time for jokes._ “Can I come in?”

“Yes.”

He rushed around the corner and saw her in a ball on the ground covered in honey and hay.

“Where were you stung?”

She stretched out and pointed at a spot on the inside of her right leg above her knee.

“Can you remove the stinger?”

She shook her head, sobbing with guilt.

Gilbert groaned trying to figure out what to do next. _I suppose it technically could be worse._ “Marilla is going to actually kill me. Anne, I’m sorry but we need to get that out of you. Now. Please forgive me.”

 _Just another patient. This needs to be done._ He lifted her skirt as little as possible, removed her stocking, which took the bee’s abdomen, but the barbed stinger was stubborn and remained in her thigh. He swiftly scraped the stinger out, pulled up her stocking and pulled her skirt back down.

“Are you feeling okay? Does your throat itch? Are you having any trouble breathing?”

“No, just a little winded from running. And crying.”

He pulled her hair off her neck looking and feeling for any signs of a severe reaction, happy that she collapsed near the door where the light was coming in strong. “I’m not seeing any hives or anything on your face or neck and I don’t feel any swelling, so that’s good.” He paused and kissed her forehead. “Anne, I’m going to need your help here. We have a couple problems. You are covered in honey and hay and we need to get a salve on that sting. How do you suggest we proceed? Would you be willing and able to walk back to Green Gables?”

“Not in this state, no.”

“Come here,” he helped her up. “Let’s get you inside.”

They walked to the house where Miss Stacy and Sebastian sat waiting in anticipation on the porch. Having witnessed the running, yelling and shedding of clothes, they were awaiting an explanation.

“Please don’t laugh this time, Anne was stung. Bash, do you still have any of Mary’s clothes here and if so would it be possible to borrow some of them? Just a skirt and blouse if that’s all right?”

“No problem at all, I’ll be right back Queen Anne.”

“Miss Stacy, can you help Anne change if she needs it? You can use my father’s room. I’ll find the salve and pass it through to you. Check her arms and legs for hives please and let me know if you see anything disconcerting. Anne, I’ll get a basin of water for you so you can wash up.”

“Come along dear,” Miss Stacy said reaching out for Anne.

Gilbert got the water and salve for Anne first, passing them to Miss Stacy in his father’s room. When Sebastian arrived with the clothes he did the same.

Gilbert and Sebastian sat down next to each other at the table in the kitchen and waited while Anne cleaned up.

“So…”

“I don’t want to hear it, Bash,”

He could feel Gilbert’s nervously bouncing leg next to his. “Should we review the week?”

“Please no.” One of his hands began rubbing his forehead while the other one was clenched in a fist on the table.

“Blythe, stop worrying.”

He whispered harshly, “Bash, I had to pull up her skirt to get the stinger out. I don’t know if it’s going to be Anne or Marilla but one of them is going to kill me.”

Sebastian placed his hand on Gilbert’s. “Stop worrying. You did nothing wrong and no one is going to be upset about you helping her, least of all Anne. If she didn’t want your help, she would have made it clear, you know that.”

Gilbert took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

“Look, I know this week has been… interesting,”

“It’s been a disaster.”

“Has it really? Think about it. You’ve been able to spend time with Anne every day. She has smiled at you, every day. She’s told you that she loves you, every day. And I’m no fool, so I assume that you’ve kissed her every single day. Isn’t this what you’ve been dreaming of for how long now? Weeks? Months?”

“Years. I’ve been dreaming of this for years.”

“You fell down a hill together which provided the perfect opportunity for you to tell her how beautiful you think she is. She was kissing you so passionately that when I startled you, she nearly bit your lip off. Sure she tossed you in a river, but then was so overcome at the sight of you that she couldn’t handle her emotions and had to leave. She is the most stubbornly self-sufficient person I have ever met, but she just surrendered control and allowed you to help her, even though it put her in a compromising position. Do you even realize what you have? Do you realize how much she trusts you? Gilbert, as much as a person can belong to another person- that is how much she is yours. She is shamelessly and undeniably yours. In one week, you’ve gone from begging for her friendship to being all but engaged. Everything will be fine. No. Everything will be great. Just calm. The hell. Down.”

Gilbert took a deep breath and after slowly controlling its release he said, “Thanks, Bash.”

Miss Stacy assertively entered the kitchen. “We have a problem.”

“What now?” Gilbert groaned.

“Mary was a very slight woman, and Anne, though still slight, is not nearly as small as Mary was apparently.”

“So…”

“While the clothes technically fit, it would be positively indecent for anyone to see her in them, I’m afraid I can’t allow it and she is not at all comfortable leaving the room looking like that anyway, much less the house. If we wanted to ruin that girl I assure you this would be the fastest way to do it.”

“What should we do then?” Gilbert asked.

“Sebastian, do you mind going to Green Gables and fetching Anne some clean clothes? I think it’s best if I chaperone them at this time, if, God help us, this situation ever got out, it will be far better if I’m here instead of Anne being left alone with two men.”

“I agree, I’ll go as fast as I can.”

“Gilbert, do you have anything she can put on to give her some sense of modesty? She is really quite uncomfortable right now.”

“I’m sure I can find something.”

He ran upstairs and rifled through his clothes he had outgrown, finding some pants, suspenders and a shirt in decent condition and then rushing back downstairs.

“Here,” he said handing her the clothes, “I have some sweaters too if she’d like, but thought she might be too warm that way.”

“Thank you. Anne, I’m coming back in!”

“Miss Stacy, did you ever embarrass yourself this much when you were courting?” Anne asked her teacher.

“Well, I didn’t meet my husband until I was in college. And we had a different start to our relationship than you and Gilbert did.”

“So that’s a no then?”

“Anne, when my husband and I were courting, we snuck into an alley for a moment alone. Not only did a constable find us and break us apart, but he assumed I was a ‘working lady.’ It was a Sunday afternoon, we were supposed to be at a church picnic and I was found in a back alley with a man and called a prostitute! I was equal parts embarrassed and horrified at my behavior. But then I thought about it for a bit. I was simply kissing someone I loved. What was wrong with that? I was safe and I was happy. I was at the top of my class, the lead scholarship recipient of my year and I had my choice of any teaching position I wanted. The thought that I was a prostitute was undeniably laughable, so I laughed! There was no harm done anyway, not really, and we had that moment of humor to remember for the remainder of our time together. You and Gilbert are already so much closer than many couples who have been courting a year even. So you’ve had a couple of comical encounters, is that really such a bad thing? From what I witnessed you got a lot of joy from recounting the stories to me. Consider your current situation. Are you really embarrassed? Or do you just think you should be because he saw your leg?”

“I suppose you’re right, I’m not embarrassed, I mean he’ll see it eventually anyway, right?”

“Anne.” Miss Stacy said with raised eyebrows.

 _Apparently I took it too far._ “Sorry. I’m mostly worried about people hearing about it I guess. **Then** I will be embarrassed. Everyone will be back to calling me a trollop with loose morals because I’m an orphan.”

“The only people who know he saw your leg are you, me and Gilbert. I assume Sebastian will as well, seeing how close he and Gilbert are. None of us will tell anyone about it. If Marilla asks for specifics, tell her what happened. No one else needs to know. Gilbert was with you and he knew what to do. It would have been foolish to leave you in potential danger when there was a clear solution to the problem. That’s all there is to it. And Anne, I think this whole situation shows a great deal of personal growth on your part. It should come as no surprise to you that you don’t accept assistance easily. Allowing Gilbert to help you in that way is indicative of an incredibly deep level of trust that frankly, I didn’t know you were capable of, I don’t think many your age are.”

Anne finished braiding her hair into one long plait and turned toward Miss Stacy. “Well, how do I look?” Anne posed in Gilbert’s clothes.

“Absolutely adorable, and most importantly you are concealed. Honestly I’m much less worried about the leg thing than I was about someone seeing you in that blouse, I will tell you that much.”

“That was a rather revealing situation, I agree.” She brought her sleeve covered hands to her face and inhaled deeply saying, “Mmmmmm,” as she exhaled.

“Mmm?” Miss Stacy questioned.

“It smells good. Like…” she inhaled deeply again, “I don’t know how to describe it.”

Miss Stacy laughed softly. “You’ll figure it out,” she said as she walked toward the door.

They left the bedroom. Gilbert stood as they entered the kitchen and without looking at her he began apologizing. “I am so sorry Anne, I didn’t want to violate you in such a way and I hope that you can understand that I needed to get the stinger out of your leg as quickly as possible. I would never dare to assume such liberties with you and please, please, please don’t be mad. I’m so, so sorry.”

She rushed over to him and hugged him tightly, receiving his desperate embrace in return. “I understand Gilbert, and I appreciate your fast action. I was in pain and I know that you did what needed to be done. Thank you for keeping a level head and assisting me. Yes, I wish I would have been stung on my hand, but really, all things considered, the situation could have been much, much worse. And I know that you wouldn’t dare take advantage of me in any situation, ever. That understanding is only confirmed by your predictable, though completely unnecessary, apology.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Mad? No! Of course not! I dearly hope no one ever hears of what happened and I will probably need to figure out how and what to tell Marilla, but that’s fine. Unfortunately… or maybe fortunately?” she laughed, “I have a plethora of experience explaining away far stranger situations I have found myself in.” She took a deep breath as she felt him relax, his arms sliding from her back to rest around her waist. “It’s you!” She grabbed his upper arms and pushed him back slightly so she could look at his face.

Miss Stacy laughed.

“What?”

“These clothes smell like you!”

“Of course they do, they’re mine.” Gilbert was suddenly nervous, “Do they, do I, smell bad?”

“No! You smell wonderful! I noticed that this shirt had a smell that I just loved and I couldn’t place what it was exactly and it’s you!”

Gilbert was relieved, “I don’t really know how to respond to that. Thank you?”

“You’re welcome! Can I borrow your hat?”

 _The surprises just keep coming._ “What?” he asked confused.

“Where’s your hat? Can you fetch it for me please?”

He went to the door to retrieve his hat from the hook and handed it to her. She walked back to the bedroom and put it on her head while looking in the mirror and returned to the room smiling and confident. “Miss Stacy, where can you buy pants for women? Or did you make yours?” she asked enthusiastically.

Miss Stacy was responding, but he was hearing none of it. Gilbert took a moment to take fully take in the sight of her. He was stunned silent yet again by the woman before him who was so comfortable walking around his house in his old clothes while having a casual conversation. The cream shirt, though it hadn’t fit him in years, still hung loosely on her small frame, the sleeves nearly reaching her fingertips. He had given her some slim green suspenders that matched the green pants and her hair, brought together in a single messy braid over her shoulder, positively glowed in contrast. He assumed she had either done her hair quickly, or simply didn’t care that it wasn’t perfectly neat because she had missed some strands that hung loose around her face and it was all topped off with his hat upon her head. He suspected any of their other female classmates would have stayed holed up until appropriate clothing was procured for them, but not his Anne. Seeing how comfortable she was just being herself around him warmed his heart. Sebastian’s words echoed in his mind, _‘as much as a person can belong to another person- that is how much she is yours. She is shamelessly and undeniably yours.’_

“Gilbert, is something wrong?” Anne asked him, concern evident on her face.

 _I must have been staring again._ He cleared his throat, “Are- are you okay? You were terribly upset before and I don’t want you to be in any unnecessary pain.”

She softly laughed, “Gilbert, I’m fine. It’s just like you said, it burns a bit, and it’s a little swollen, but honestly I wasn’t crying from the pain, I know how to deal with pain. I was more upset that I killed a bee because I was too stubborn to check under my skirt in the orchard like you suggested. This whole situation can be blamed wholly on my stubbornness. There are times that I wish I would just listen to you.”

“Can I get that in writing?” he joked.

“Absolutely not,” she shook her head and smiled brightly at him.

He couldn’t have stopped himself if he tried. He wasn’t sure what came over him, but in less than a moment he had closed the distance between them and was kissing her even more passionately than he had in the orchard. Had he not been holding her up, she would have collapsed, whether from the sheer power of the collision or the fact that she lost all feeling in her legs, she couldn’t be sure.

“Gilbert Blythe!” he heard his teacher scold him.

He stepped back from Anne quickly, “I am so sorry! I completely forgot you were here,” he admitted guiltily, his face turning red with embarrassment as Anne tried not to laugh.

“Clearly!” Miss Stacy shouted, completely flabbergasted by his behavior.

They all stood there awkwardly for a minute, no one quite sure how to proceed when Sebastian returned with clean clothes for Anne.

After surveying the situation he said, “Let me guess. Gilbert forgot that there are other people in the world besides him and Anne… again.”

“You know, I had assumed Anne would be the impulsive one in this relationship but I was wrong!”

“Never overestimate a fool in love, especially this fool. Now that he has permission to kiss her, he rarely misses an opportunity, or remembers to do what’s proper, or remembers that he isn’t invisible. I suggest you two go out and clean up that glass before Anne changes back into her clothes. No need to have two honey coated dresses delivered to Marilla tonight. When you’re done, fetch some juice from the cellar, Blythe, we’re out up here. Please note that I said Blythe only. No Anne.”

They rushed outside without a word.

“Okay, so I’m used to him staring at her like he’s starving and she is lunch, but that was ridiculous! I have never seen a couple courting only a week kiss like that! Where did they even learn how to do that?”

“Do you really want me to try to answer that?”

“No, Sebastian, that won’t be necessary. He was so enamored by her that he literally forgot I was here. I was having a full conversation with Anne about where to buy pants and he didn’t even notice!”

“Welcome to my world. I’m pretty sure that as soon as he saw her dressed in his clothes he forgot anyone else even existed. It does something to a man, when we see the woman we love in our clothes. It shows a closeness and comfort that’s hard to explain. Then you add in that he still sees her as some unattainable goddess. All that mixed together? He may be intelligent, but he’s just a boy in love and all the intelligence in the world can’t win out over the feelings he has for her.”

“You really have grown quite close to him, haven’t you?”

“He’s the best friend I’ve ever had. He’s closer than family, which is why I know that even though he can’t keep his hands off of her, he knows when to stop and wouldn’t dare cross a line with her. And she is equally responsible and respectful.”

“I know they speak of marrying, but they are young. Don’t you think that there’s a possibility they may grow apart when they are separated in the coming years?

“I don’t think that will happen, there’s something special at work with those two. You’re right. They’ve only been courting a week, but there’s so much more to it than that. Gilbert has been gone for her since they met. I’ll admit, it’s a bit uncommon, knowing the moment you meet someone that they are your person. It’s not so much love at first sight; I think love needs a little time to grow. But it’s an instinct: the feeling of your soul reaching out, having found a missing piece. That’s how it was with me and Mary. I knew right away.”

“Did she?”

He laughed at the memory. “No. Her history led her to be wary of men. I had to work for her, but I was honored to be given the opportunity. Gilbert and Anne: It’s the same. He was so young when they met though that I don’t think he realized what had happened. But I knew. First time he mentioned her on that boat, I think he was only sixteen, but I could see it in his eyes. I could hear it in the way he said her name, like it was a prayer. He tried to play it off as casual conversation, but it was clear that she was all he thought about. He will tell people he came back to Avonlea because of the orchard, to help me have a new life and make a living and I suppose that’s true to some extent. But really, he came back for Anne, that’s it. If she weren’t here, he would have found a different way in the world.”

“Did he know that’s why he was coming back?”

“I honestly don’t know. I think maybe he started to figure it out after receiving her letter.”

“Her letter?”

“She sent word to him that there might be gold in Avonlea, I’m sure you heard the story. He read it every night, claiming it wasn’t a love letter, and technically it wasn’t. But that girl contacted Diana’s wealthy aunt who sent her help to scour all the ships’ manifests at the port to figure out what ship he was on and where it was stationed at the time. You don’t do that if you don’t care and he felt that. Knowing there was someone out there who cared about him after losing his dad- that meant a lot, more than she probably knows.”

“I suppose it would.”

“So after that, I decided to get him drunk.”

“Sebastian!”

“Hey, don’t judge! I proposed to Mary drunk in a tub, sometimes a bit of inebriation offers some clarity.”

“Did it work?”

“My word is that boy obsessed with that girl’s hair. He would talk about how passionate and intelligent she was often enough, but he would go on and on about that hair. When I finally met her and saw it I could admit that he didn’t exaggerate the color and then when it grew back out, I could understand his obsession a bit more. But still, I’ve heard enough about her hair to last a lifetime. But no matter what he said, he would never remember talking about her the next day; too little experience drinking.”

“He was sixteen! Maybe it was just too much liquor.”

“Still, it was disappointing. This is the best part though and I didn’t even realize it the time. He would always be mumbling this nonsense about a black box when he was falling asleep. I didn’t figure out what he was on about until this past Wednesday.”

“What was it?”

“It was the location of his mother’s wedding ring. This sixteen year old boy who couldn’t admit his feelings in the daylight? With just a little liquor he was dreaming of proposing to her come nightfall.”

Miss Stacy had tears falling down her cheeks.

“Woah, woah, woah. What’s that about?”

“I’m sorry, here I was invited over to help ease your grief and I just end up wallowing in my own, jealous of the relationship between two teenagers and trying to come up with more ways to hide from Mrs. Lynde. How did it come to this, Sebastian?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mrs. Lynde is trying to find me a husband. I don’t want a husband. I want **my** husband.”

“I understand completely. She came over a few days ago telling me it was time to remarry.”

“No!”

“To help with Delphine and the house.”

“That isn’t a reason to marry!”

“Well, it’s a reason, but not a very good one. I think I’m going to write to my mother to see if she will come to help.”

“That is a much better solution. The gall of that woman, I swear I have never met someone so impertinent.”

“Who has she offered to you as an option?”

“Mostly her son,” she laughed. “Could you imagine having her for a mother-in-law? I think I will pass on that consideration alone, thank you.”

“Do you see yourself ever marrying again?”

“I was actually talking this over with Matthew recently of all people. I won’t say I’ll never marry again, but I’m not looking to, if that makes sense. I miss companionship, certainly, but I very much enjoy my life the way it is. I love teaching and tinkering and the freedom. Though I do wonder if I’ll regret having missed out on motherhood, but the feeling isn’t strong enough to try to change the situation. I have my students, after all. What about you? Years from now, could you see being married again?”

“Right now, I struggle just seeing to next week, I can’t even begin to think of months or years down the road. Little Delphine and seeing what trouble Gilbert and Anne get into are what keeps me going right now. I guess I wouldn’t rule it out either, but I can’t imagine ever feeling about someone the way I felt about Mary, I don’t know that I’d want to. But, I’ll admit that I do miss spending time with an adult who isn’t telling me to marry Mary’s friends and who isn’t a love-struck teenager. Muriel, you **have** helped me, so incredibly much. It has been wonderful just to sit and talk with someone who understands what I’m going through. If there’s any chance you are looking for a friend, I would very much like to be yours.”

“I would like that Sebastian, thank you,” her eyes had teared up again, not having previously realized how lonely she was.

“And if you ever need a taste of motherhood, you can take Delphine for a bit. She’s wonderful, but you’ll quickly learn that the best part of that arrangement is that you can give her back whenever you want and return to your peaceful, nappy-free life.”

\---

“That was so embarrassing,” Gilbert said picking up a basket to collect glass shards in.

“What were you thinking?”

“I wasn’t! I saw you standing there, looking like that, and I literally forgot she was there!”

“I was having a conversation with her! How on earth did you forget she was there?”

“Look, Anne, I have no explanation. It just happened.”

“So are you saying that it could just happen at school then? Should I be concerned?”

“No, it won’t happen at school,” he paused and thought about it. “Probably.”

“Gilbert!”

“What?”

“I don’t even know how to yell at you right now. I hardly want to complain about you being attracted to me, but seriously, I need to be able to trust that you won’t kiss me like that in front of people!”

“For not knowing how to yell at me you are certainly doing a good job.”

“Gilbert, I’m serious, just add that kiss to the list of things that Rachel will rush us off to the church for!”

“So you’re saying if I kiss you like that in front of Rachel, you’ll marry me? Because I can do that.” he said hopefully.

“No. I’m saying if you do that she will **force** us to get married. Tell me Doctor Blythe, would you like the woman you marry to come to the altar willingly or would you like her forced there by the town gossip?”

He sighed. “I would like **you** to be there willingly, but the result would be the same, so it’s hard to argue with that.”

“Oh I’m sure I could find a way.”

After a brief silence Anne asked, “What was that juice Bash was just talking about?”

“Apple brandy.”

She gasped melodramatically. “You mean to tell me that the perfect Gilbert Blythe makes liquor?

He laughed softly, “Like a perfect heathen, yes.”

“How did you learn to do that?”

“My dad taught me. And then Bash was interested. And really, there isn’t much to it and it’s delicious, so why wouldn’t I continue doing it?”

“What if someone finds out?”

“Are you going to tell anyone?”

“No.”

“And Bash certainly won’t say anything. If he tells Miss Stacy what it is I doubt she would say anything either. That completes the list of those who know about the liquor I make in my cellar, so I can’t say I see it as an issue.”

They knelt down on the ground to pick up the shards of glass, working quietly together to complete the task, but Anne could feel tension radiating off of Gilbert.

“I’m sorry I wasted the honey.”

“I don’t care about the honey. They’ll make more.”

“Sorry about the jars.”

“I don’t care about the jars. I can get more.”

“Then why are you so upset right now?”

“I’m not upset, I’m just thinking,” he stood and offered her his hand to help her up.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked as they began walking back to the barn.

“I’m wondering if there is any way I could get you to change your mind so we could court openly.”

“Did you reach a conclusion?”

“Yes. I don’t think there is anything I could say that could make you change your mind.”

“You know me well.”

“So what about a compromise of sorts?”

“What do you mean?”

“Just give me a minute to think about it.” They reached the barn and he put the shards in the bin. After walking over to the well to wash their hands, they started toward the cellar and he took a deep breath. “We don’t need to tell people we are courting, or that we are together, I don’t care about that. But we have a limited amount of time left until we leave Avonlea and I’m not going to waste what little time we have here not being with you as fully as I can. In short, I want to be able to spend time with you regardless of whether or not other people are around. I’m going to continue to walk with you to and from school. If Diana wants to walk with us, great, but if she’s not there I’m still going to walk with you, or if you two have something private to discuss, I’ll leave you alone of course, but you get my point.” They arrived at the house and he reached down to open the cellar door and sauntered down the stairs, yelling back up to her, “After we are no longer required to spend lunch together, I’m still going to spend my lunch with you. I will walk you home from church on Sundays, and oddly enough, I only know the long way home.” His voice was fading so she descended the stairs to hear him better, sitting down on the bottom step. “I will be going to the county fair with you,” he yelled.

“You can stop yelling now, I’m right here, I can hear you,” she said. She was surprised at how small the cellar was, he was only a couple meters away from her trying to see what was on the shelf. She saw him retrieve a dusty bottle and throw it back and forth between his hands a bit, his head slightly stooped so he wouldn’t hit it on the joists above him.

He looked at it for a few seconds and started back toward her, talking at a normal volume. “If it helps, our families can go to the fair together, but I’m going to spend the day with you and I will be dancing with you that evening. I will be sitting next to you when we take our exams and after that, **we** will go to the celebration **together**.”

“You mean **together** together?”

“Yes.”

 _He’s clever, I’ll give him that._ It wasn’t lost on her that he didn't technically tell her what to do until the very end when they became a ‘we,’ which seemed appropriate somehow. He said what **he** was going to do. Her participation was implied, but she was actually impressed by his strategy of telling her what to do without explicitly telling her what to do. She stood up on the bottom step so she could look him in the eye. “Tell me, Gilbert Blythe,” she said, trying not to laugh, “How exactly is all that you just proposed a compromise? Because I certainly didn’t hear one in there.”

He gave her that arrogant grin she loved so much and she wondered if he knew what that smile did to her. “Sorry, that may have been misleading,” he laughed softly, “Rather I acknowledge that you don’t want our relationship out in the open right now, but I’m going to spend time with you regardless and I’m not willing to compromise. If you need there to be a compromise, how about, I’m going to spend all my time with you, and you’re going to let me.”

“You slipped,” she said, placing her arms around his shoulders.

“Did I though?” he smiled at her.

“You avoided telling me what to do until that very last sentence.”

“That was intentional, and I know you didn’t mind,” he teased. “I won.”

“This one time I didn’t mind. Don’t let it go to your head,” she whispered as she leaned in to him.

“So let me get this straight,” they heard Sebastian say from above them causing them both to jump, “Blythe, you can’t keep yourself off of her in front of your teacher, but here, hidden away in a cellar, you decide to take your sweet time. You’ve been down here for five minutes; I thought I’d be interrupting a whole lot more than I am.”

“We’re in the middle of a very serious conversation,” he replied with a smile, his face remaining close to Anne’s.

“I told Muriel about the juice; pass it up before you realize that there are better things to hold onto down there.”

Gilbert passed the bottle up through the opening and let his arms settle tightly around her waist. “You could’ve waited. We were on our way back up.”

“No you weren’t. Don’t lie to me. And I remember saying that Gilbert was to get the juice. I believe I said, Blythe only, no Anne. And this is exactly the reason why, Gilbert, I’ve never actually seen a man drool while looking at a woman, so thank you for that.”

“I did get it; Anne stayed on the steps. And I’m not drooling. Please leave.”

“And what if I don’t?”

“Well, you’ll probably need to figure out how to lie to Marilla,” he said boldly.

“You cheeky fool. I expect you both in the house in five minutes. And you better not do anything that would require lying to Marilla.”

“Yeah, we’ll see you in ten,” Gilbert responded, his eyes never leaving Anne’s.

“ **Five** ,” he repeated.

“Fifteen,” Anne chimed in defiantly, a glorious smile spread across her face.

“Say five again Bash, please?” Gilbert laughed as he brushed his nose against hers, “Just to see what happens?”

 _I'm going to regret this._ “ **Five**.”

“ **Twenty,** ” she demanded before starting to kiss him.

Gilbert broke the kiss briefly and politely said “Thank you, Sebastian,” before picking Anne up, turning them both into the cellar and pressing her against the wall.

“Unbelievable!” Sebastian yelled in feigned annoyance before walking away, smiling to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! Thanks for sticking with the story and for all the comments. I plan to continue the series with events at the fair and exams, but I'm in the middle of an interstate move (during quarantine, yes, it's been an absolute nightmare) so it'll probably be a while until I post something again.


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